To die as lovers may- to die together, so that they may live together
by Redonkgirl99
Summary: Soulmarks are a rare phenomenon; only .1 percent of the population having one. It was considered a gift to have a mark, to have someone meant for you in every way possibly. So, why is it that the even rarer phenomenon, two marks, was often treated with disdain? Pietro/OC/Wanda. Spoilers for both Age of Ultron and Agents of SHIELD. Title from the book Carmilla by J. Sheridan LeFanu
1. Prologue

Everyone has a soulmate.

In the beginning, everyone was born with the first words their soulmate(s) says to them encircling their right wrist.

The bonds were _strange_.

Occasionally, you could feel what they felt when the feeling was strong.

And once you bonded…

You knew _everything_ about that person.

Not necessarily everything they've done, but you just _understood_ them.

You knew their habits, you knew how they were going to feel about something, you knew the way they would react in any situation.

You knew _them_.

It's why the Bible often used 'to know' in a sexual way.

Because that's how you bonded.

But, like most everything, humans messed that up.

Well… it wasn't _entirely_ humans.

Odin looked down at the humans and was alarmed; Midgardians were evolving at a much faster rate than the Asgardians did, at this rate they would soon surpass them. But, why were they progressing so fast?

The bonds.

The bonds gave them strength to carry on, and once completed, made them _very_ powerful.

So, the bonds must be stopped.

Odin taught all of Asgard that those Midgardian bonds were a disease and sent his sons down to Midgard to tell their followers that.

Loki even removed many of the bonds.

Quickly people began to marry others, disregarding the bonds entirely, and slowly weakening themselves.

Soon, children were born without a mark or a bond.

But, just because they didn't have marks or bonds didn't mean they didn't have a soulmate

And when Maria Stark was born, .1% of the population had marks.

And .1% of that had two.

.

 _"She was going to be one of the best!"_

 _"I know… But, under these circumstances, we must not allow her to take part."_

 _"She would've… She would've been a god."_

 _"Now we see that she was not destined for that path."_

 _"Oh, say it; she's destined to be a whore."_

 _"… Return her to her father."_

Maria's eyes flew open.

"Miss Stark, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Jarv, just a weird dream," Maria said, pulling her dark brown hair into a messy ponytail.

"Would you like me to inform Miss Potts of this?"

"No thank you," Maria said, smiling slightly and tumbling out of bed.

.

"Good morning," Maria smiled, Pepper looking up from her tablet.

"You're up before eleven," Pepper pointed out "Everything okay?"

"I went to bed at, like, nine," Maria lied, not wanting to get into her recurring dream.

"Mornin' Munchkin," Tony said, yawning as he ruffled Maria's hair.

"You're one to talk," Maria replied "I'm only an inch under white woman's average. Just like you."

"Shush," Tony replied, pouring himself some coffee.

.

"Come on, Maria!" Pepper called "Happy's ready to go!"

"Do I _have_ too?" Maria complained.

"You ask that every time; has the answer ever once changed?" Pepper asked, before pulling Maria into a hug "I won't be here when you get back."

"I know. I'll see ya soon, though, right?" Maria asked, Pepper smiling.

"Of course."

.

"Miss Stark, I'm sorry, but we're going to have to address these issues sooner or later," Doctor Graham said apologetically, Maria sighing.

"Can I at least pick which one?"

"Of course."

It was quiet as Maria considered which trauma would be easier to delve into.

Easy; the one that wasn't as raw.

"I think I'd prefer the one from when I was younger," Maria said, Doctor Graham smiling and nodding "Although, there's really not much to tell."

"Tell me everything and we'll go from there."

"When I was four, both of my bonds were suddenly filled with… fear. Completely and utterly terrified, so much, that I had to stay bedridden for three days, and wait until they'd calm down enough that it didn't come through."

"What were the exact feelings you got?"

"Well, first, fear. Then some sadness mixed in. And then some resignation. Then…" Maria frowned "Abject hatred."

"Hatred of what?"

"Not sure… Whoever put them in that situation?"

"That's pretty heavy for a four year old."

"Yeah… They're a bit older than me. I can feel it sometimes."

"Do you get feelings from them often?"

"Not really… whenever I feel strongly about something, enough that it passes through, I get this sudden wave of affection from the both of them."

"Any feeling?"

"Once I was super mad because of a comment about, um, Theresa, and I punched him… And I got a _huge_ hit of love," Maria said, smiling slightly at the memory.

"You punched someone over a comment about Theresa?" Doctor Graham regretted her question when Maria suddenly closed off.

"I'm nowhere _near_ ready to talk about that."

.

"Go well?" Happy asked on the drive back to the tower.

"Guess so," Maria replied.

"Do you… Do you talk about Theresa with her?" Happy asked, his eyes flicking back in the rearview mirror.

"Nope."

.

Maria slid into her spot in the middle of the classroom.

"Hey, Mari!"

"You know I _hate_ that nickname," Maria replied, smiling over as her friend slid into the seat beside her.

"Yeah, well, I don't care," Jade replied "You do the homework?"

"Yep," Maria said smugly, Jade rolling her eyes.

"Hey, some of us have jobs and social lives."

"Doesn't homework come _before_ social life?"

"They give you special treatment!" Jade replied, changing arguments.

"I'm under the name Jarvis."

"I think their more likely to recognize other parts of you than your name," Jade teased lightly before she noticed the smile on Maria's face had slipped away as she looked away, clearing her throat.

"Crap, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinkin-." Jade started.

"No, it's alright," Maria said, smiling reassuringly.

.

"I'm back!" Maria said, flinging her stuff onto the couch "And I'm here to give congratulations!"

"I'm here to receive," Tony replied, looking away from the files that were pulled up.

"What're those?" Maria asked, looking at the files; four different people.

"Some dumb thing I'm supposed to consult on," Tony said, rolling his eyes "Now, where are my congratulations?"

"Congrats on being the first entirely clean energy building!" Maria said grandly, falling back on the couch "Though, I must dock points for the fact it is nowhere _near_ being done. Can I have some champagne?"

"Nope," Tony replied, turning back to his files.

"Why not? You were allowed to drink when _you_ were fourteen. Although, I take it all back if that means I'm going to turn out like you."

"Rude."

.

Loki sneered in disgust as he tried to control one of the many SHIELD agents and was unable to.

"Diseased scum."

He then placed the staff against the mark on the agent's arms, causing them to fade away and the bond to be _broken_.

.

"Yeah. That's just previews, this is...this is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tail diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered-!" Tony paused, feeling his heart fill with dread "Son of a bitch; Maria."

.

"Lady Stark," Loki said smoothly, Maria giving a stiff nod.

"Loki?"

"You've heard of me," Loki said, smiling.

"What do you want?"

"Your world," Loki said, holding her chin lightly to lift her head "But do not worry, Daughter of Stark, all I desire from you is leverage."

"You're going to use me to stop my dad from fighting you," Maria sighed.

"Precisely," Loki said "I won't harm you as long as your father complies."

"Us Starks aren't that great at compliance," Maria said, wrenching her head away from Loki, who chuckled.

"You will be."

Then Loki placed his staff to Maria's chest.

Nothing.

Loki sneered.

"You carry the Midgardian virus."

"What?" Maria asked, worried.

"The marks and bonds; no Asgardian or otherwise carry those, yet a select group of Migardians do."

"That doesn't make it a disease," Maria protested.

"A cleanse must come first."

"I don't like the sound of that," Maria said before Loki grabbed her wrist, shoving her sleeve up to expose her marks. Although Maria struggled, she was no match for Asgardian strength.

"Adulterous whore," Loki said disdainfully.

"Please don't!" Maria said, tearing up.

"Shush, child, it won't hurt." Loki then touched his scepter to her marks.

But unlike with the others, the marks didn't _fade_ away.

They _flared._

One turned bright silver and the other a bright red, and then it died away; the marks still intact.

"I don't understand," Loki said, frowning in worry as he released Maria's wrist "They should be gone. The bond should be broken."

"What happened?" Maria asked, mirroring Loki's worry even though she was pleased.

"I don't know," Then Loki looked up at her face with disdain "If I can't cleanse you of the illness, then I'll cleanse this universe of your existence."

And then he stabbed her in the chest.

.

Maria tore the tubes out of her mouth, taking deep gulping breaths as her vision swirled, making it so the only definite things were that she was surrounded by people in white coats and the phrase.

"It _worked_."


	2. Chapter 1

_An eight year old Maria curled up on her bed, shuddering with soft tears as she heard her father's voice yelling and Pepper speaking sternly. She felt the bed dip beside her._

 _"Hey, it's alright."_

 _"Go away," Maria replied, feeling fingers run through her hair._

 _"Those reporters don't know what they're talking about."_

 _"I said go away, Theresa!"_

 _It was quiet for a moment before Maria spoke again._

 _"… Are they right?"_

 _"What? Of course they're not, sweetheart!" Theresa said, turning Maria to look at her._

 _"But-."_

 _"But nothing," Theresa said "You're not any of those things that the reporters say you are."_

 _"A whore?"_

 _"You're not," Theresa said fiercely "You just love. And you love more than they will ever understand."_

 _It was quiet as Maria processed what she'd said._

 _"Promise?" Maria asked._

 _"Promise," Theresa replied "Now, let's go get ice cream before they're rational enough to notice we left."_

 _._

"And here we are again," Maria said, her usual cheerfulness replaced with annoyance.

"Welcome to my world," Tony replied, putting the flowers on the hospital bed Maria was in.

"One day, I'd like _not_ to be targeted by maniacs."

"Maybe you should take some self-defense classes," Tony offered.

"Yes, because knowing how to kick a guy in the groin is really going to help against the people that can _breathe fire_." Tony raised an eyebrow at his daughter, who sighed and slumped in the bed "Sorry, I really hate being back here is all."

"I know you do," Tony said, squeezing his daughter's hand.

"Is Pepper coming?"

"In a bit. Why?" Tony asked.

"Want to talk to her about something. It's nothing."

"What is it?" Tony asked, frowning as Maria sighed.

"… I'm _useless"_.

"You're not useless," Tony protested.

"Really? What about when Obadiah kidnapped me? Or during the whole Vanko situation? Or the Battle of New York? I can't do _anything_ against the people who try to kill me. All I can do is play damsel in distress and I am _sick_ of that," Maria said.

"I could build you a suit," Tony offered, Maria smiling slightly "Hot pink and purple."

"… I don't want a suit," Maria said, leaning back on the pillows "I just…"

"You just what?"

"I just don't want to feel _weak_ anymore."

.

"Miss Stark?" Maria turned around and smiled, shaking the offered hand.

"Ms. Hill, it's nice to finally meet you. Pepper speaks highly of you. Quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself," Maria said cheerfully.

"Thank you," Hill said, smiling slightly "Do you think I could speak to you for a moment?"

.

"What do you remember of the procedure that brought you back?" Hill asked, Maria biting her lip.

"Not much. I remember being… being _stabbed_. But then nothing until I woke up."

Hill studied Maria's face, looking for any signs of lying, but seemingly didn't detect any.

"How would you feel if I told you that you weren't the only one brought back that day?" Hill asked.

"Intrigued," Maria replied, smiling.

"Why?"

"Because I want to know why you're telling me _now_ ," Maria said "Why not before?"

"It was classified to hell and back before… But, now… He's looking for answers about the procedure, and wants to meet with you."

"… How?"

.

Maria was quiet as she waited for the person she was supposed to meet. She'd gotten a physical description, but that didn't mean much in this world of face changing masks, what was important was the code phrase.

"Shouldn't you have bodyguards?"

Maria smiled to herself as she looked up at the Asian woman who'd spoken.

"I'd say you're good enough."

"Come on."

.

"How far is it?" Maria asked.

"An hour."

"Can I ask what your name is, or is that against SHIELD protocol?" Maria asked, the woman's eyebrow raising slightly.

"SHIELD's gone."

"No it's not," Maria said matter-of-factly "No way did everyone roll over and give up with the Triskelion. HYDRA sure didn't."

It was quiet for a moment and the woman began to smirk slightly.

"Agent Melinda May."

"And shall I take a guess that like most SHIELD agents, you prefer be called by your last name?" Maria asked.

"You're sharp."

.

"This way," May said, leading Maria through the maze of the base.

"Where is everybody?" Maria asked.

"We decided it'd be for the best if they all stayed contained in one area; they don't know you're coming."

"Didn't want to frighten them?" Maria asked, semi-amused.

"Didn't want to frighten _you_."

.

"Here we are," May said, holding a door open for Maria, who took in the person in the room, opposite of her.

"I'm sure that you were going for shocking, but I kind of put it together when Hill told me someone else came back," Maria said, smiling a half smile.

"Nice to see you too, Miss Stark," Coulson said, smiling slightly.

"So, what's up?" Maria asked "How come neither of us are six feet under?"

"That's kind of a long story."

.

"Oh my god…" Maria said slowly "So… I have _alien_ in me?"

"Seems so. And that's not all," Coulson said "And I need you to be honest with me." He pushed a button and the wall began to move, showing, underneath, a wall covered in strange carvings "Have you been doing these?"

Maria stood up slowly, reaching a running her fingers over the carvings.

"No."

"Miss Stark, you need-."

"I know. But, I haven't been doing _anything_ like this," Maria said, looking over the wall before turning to Coulson "Is that good or bad?"

"Not sure," Coulson said "We have another person that was brought back; Skye. She doesn't do them either. I didn't even start to do them until I saw Garret's, and in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have shown them to you."

"No, it's okay," Maria smiled "Not to be an insensitive geek; but this is _fascinating_."

"You should stick around a few days, see if it triggers in you. Then, if it doesn't, you can go home."

"What, are you kidding?" Maria asked "You can't drop this bomb and tell me to go home. I'm helping."

"Maria, I understand your curiosity, but this isn't a game-."

"You think I don't realize that?" Maria asked "Phil, you weren't the _only_ one that got stabbed… Let me help."

.

Fitz laughed slightly as Mack told another story, Hunter laughing far louder before cutting off.

"Um…"

"Hunter, Mack, Fitz," Coulson said "This is Maria Stark; she's going to be consulting with us for a little while."

"W-What…?" Fitz trailed off, Maria's lip quirking slightly as she held out her hand to him.

"Maria."

Fitz took it hesitantly, smiling slightly.

"N-nice to meet you. I'm Leo Fitz. A-an Engineer"

Maria shook the others' hands.

"What're you consulting on?" Hunter asked, Maria sending a quick look to Coulson.

"Just something personal I asked her to help me with. But, maybe other things if we need her to," Coulson covered smoothly.

"Have you met Skye and Simmons?" Mack asked, Maria shaking her head "They're probably the closest to your age on the base other than Turbo here."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Although, Skye might freak out on you," Mack cautioned.

"I'm used to it."

.

"Simmons, Skye, Bobbi?" Coulson called, the girls looking up from their discussion.

"Y-you're…" Skye said with wide eyes, Maria smiling slightly.

"Maria."

"She'll be consulting for us for a little while," Coulson explained, Bobbi smiling and shaking her hand.

"Good to have you on board. I'm Barbra Morse, but everyone calls me Bobbi."

"And I'm Jemma Simmons, a doctor of bio-chem," Simmons said, smiling excitedly at Maria.

"It's nice to meet you, Doctor Simmons," Maria said, smiling slightly as Jemma giggled in surprise.

"You can just call me Simmons, or Jemma."

"I was just showing Maria where she'll be staying," Coulson said.

"I can show her," Skye said quickly before wincing at her own excitement.

.

"So, you're a SHIELD agent," Maria said.

"Yeah," Skye said, smiling as she led Maria through the base.

"Am I allowed to ask how you became one?"

"I was a part of the Rising Tide," Skye said "The Rising Tide is-."

"I know what it is," Maria said, smiling encouragingly "They tried to shut down a Stark Fundraiser once."

"What happened?" Skye asked.

"The best way to describe it is when an old person falls over; you know you shouldn't laugh because there could be a real problem, but it's too funny _not_ to," Maria replied, Skye laughing slightly.

"Can I ask who did the tripping?"

"Our AI JARVIS," Maria said, Skye's eyes widening.

"There actually _is_ an AI?"

"Yep. He's sassy as all hell, too," Maria said, smiling slightly "He's been sort of a third parent to me."

"I can't even _fathom_ your life," Skye said, Maria laughing.

"Probably not. It's something straight out of sci-fi," Maria agreed "Anyway, you joining SHIELD?"

"Right, well, I got on SHIELD's radar, but instead of locking me up, they recruited me."

"I've heard that story before," Maria mumbled.

"What?" Skye asked.

"Nothing. So, are you a field agent or do you just hack?"

"Both," Skye said, Maria giving a low whistle.

"Bad. Ass."

Skye will maintain to this day that she freak out on the inside at that.

.

She'd been with SHIELD for two months (or, in Tony's mind, Milan, Paris, and London) and she found she actually liked the people she worked with. Especially Skye.

She guessed it was because she was the type of person that she was used to being around; a snarky hacker with a heart of gold.

She swore she would _never_ introduce her to Tony.

She liked Bobbi and Simmons as well, but she sometimes got the feeling that they were being a bit patronizing.

Mack was nice to her, but they never really talked.

Trip was awesome, making her feel comfortable right away with the team.

And May, she knew she could get along with May, if she let her. In a lot of ways, May reminded her of Natasha, but, unlike Natasha, May seemed much more on the fence about her. She wasn't entirely sure why; some of her thought maybe May thought she was a rich kid that would blow everything for them. But most of her thought that May was scared of the alien running through the veins of a girl that she didn't know.

She got it, so she didn't push May (also because she didn't want to die).

She got along with Hunter at first, he kind of reminded her of Clint, but then she reached for something; her sleeve lifting to reveal her right wrist.

.

"Damn, Maria is quite a little harlot."

Maria turned a deep scarlet before turning and leaving the room.

"Nice going, Hunter," Bobbi said.

"What? I wasn't being _serious_."

"So?" Skye asked "Maria has to deal with that stuff all the time. Don't you keep up on current events?"

"Yeah," Hunter said crossing his arms "I just don't read US weekly."

"Does this look like US to you?" Skye asked, pulling up a video of a Fox News correspondent saying that they felt their country was going downhill because of the amount of girls that look up to a future whore.

"Oh…" Hunter said slowly.

.

Maria sighed; she didn't want to go back to her room, knowing that they would try to find her there, so she instead found herself wandering the hallways of the base.

"A-Are you alright?" Maria looked up in surprise.

"Uh, yeah, fine," She reassured, Fitz looking at her doubtfully.

"You don't s-seem like it."

"It's nothing, just something Hunter said, I'm used to it," Maria shrugged.

"W-was it about your, um," Fitz snapped his fingers.

"Marks," Maria offered, Fitz nodding "Yeah."

"That's dumb," Fitz said firmly "H-having mu-mul- a lot of marks just means you, um." He frowned looking for a word "That you… Love! That you love more th-than most people."

"Thanks, Fitz," Maria smiled softly.

"D-Do you want some, um," Fitz snapped his fingers "A drink, hot one."

"Coffee?"

"No."

"Tea?"

"Yes! Would you like some tea?" Fitz asked, smiling.

"Yeah, sure," Maria said, smiling.

.

And so began her friendship with Fitz.

Later on, Hunter, as he looked for Maria to apologize too, would find them drinking tea and Fitz explaining how the cloaking devices worked.

.

"Do you have a thing about the sun?"

"What?" Maria demanded, looking over at Skye as she tapped away on her computer.

"It's just, you never wear anything other than high collared, long sleeves, and I was wondering if you've got a thing about getting tans."

"Um, no. I just like to cover my marks," Maria said, shrugging and looking away.

"Why don't you just wear bracelets then?" Skye asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Maria asked.

"I work better when I talk. Anyway, you could just wear those thick leather bracelets."

"I don't want too."

Why not? It must get pretty hot. You could always-."

"I've got pretty nasty fucking scar, okay?!" Maria snapped, making Skye jump and look at her with wide eyes.

Maria sighed and looked away for moment.

"Sorry," She said quietly.

"No, I shouldn't have pressed you about it," Skye replied, looking back at her computer "… It's on your chest?"

"Yeah."

"… Can I see it?"

"Seriously?" Maria demanded, giving her a look.

"I was just curious."

Maria sighed and looked to see if anyone was around before reaching to unbutton the top couple on her shirt, revealing the scar in the center of her chest.

"Does it hurt?" Skye asked after she looked at it for a moment.

"Not really," Maria shrugged.

"Why…"

"Why is it blue around the edges? No idea," Maria said before buttoning her shirt back up "All I know is that if I wear revealing clothing, I'll get a bunch of false support and pity from the media and I really don't feel like dealing with that."

Maria sat back own and returned to what she was doing.

"Thanks."

"What?" Maria asked, looking up at Skye.

"Thanks for showing me," She said.

"Yeah, sure," Maria replied, smiling slightly.

.

 _How do I keep getting myself into these situations?_

Maria sighed to herself as she followed Trip through the underground city.

"Help Phil discover what the alien blood is, they said. You'll be safe, they said," Maria grumbled, Trip's lip twitching.

"Join SHIELD, they said. It'll be fun, they said," Trip replied, Maria giggling slightly before they noticed the doors closing on the temple.

"Skye!" Maria yelled as they both jumped inside, the doors slamming shut behind them.

"What're you two doing here?" Skye demanded.

"Came to get you," Trip replied.

Maria smiled at her friend, trying to be reassuring before the obelisk began to open, showing crystals inside.

"How do we stop it?" Trip asked.

"I don't think we can," Skye replied.

"What happens now?" Trip asked again once it stopped opening.

"Something beautiful," Raina replied.

Then, a shockwave flew out from the obelisk, hitting the four hard in the chest and sending them stumbling back.

It was quiet for a moment,

Raina smiled in anticipation of her gift before looking down in surprise as stone began to crawl up her arms, but she took reassurance as it began on Skye as well.

And _Maria_.

Well, that was interesting.

Maria stumbled back as it continued to cover her, feeling panic overtake her as it covered her eyes.

"TRIP!" Skye yelled before it covered her completely, like Raina and Maria.

Trip debated for a moment before going and kicking the obelisk off of the stand; it exploding and sending him hurtling backwards.

"NO!"

Trip looked down, finding shrapnel in his chest before the stone began to crawl over his body; making him look just like the others'.

Until the others' started to crack away.

It started with small bits until Skye was able to break out of it and look over at her dead friend as he began to crumble like the rest of the temple under the tremors.

Whereas, Maria broke out of it, not seeming much different, but _knowing_ the difference.

She was _strong_.


	3. Chapter 2

_Maria had only ever been to one funeral._

 _Theresa's mother's._

 _She had been six years old._

 _She had never really known Theresa's mom, and neither did Theresa, basing off of how little Theresa seemed to care at the funeral. But, she'd dutifully given a speech just as Maria dutifully sat still and waited for Theresa to be done so that they could go and get ice cream._

 _Maria had never grieved._

.

"It just doesn't feel real," Maria said simply.

"I envy you," Skye replied, turning her back on Maria as her body gave a shudder.

"Skye…" Maria said softly, sitting down on one of the beds in the quarantine.

"You two wouldn't have been down there if I hadn't-."

"Skye!" Maria cut her off; making her jump "This wasn't your fault. This was Raina and Cal. This was…"

"Fate?" Skye asked sarcastically.

"… We all have our time. Just some sooner than most," Maria said.

"Insightful," Skye said mockingly.

"I was gonna be a philosophy major."

"What?" Skye asked, looking over sharply.

"When I went to college. I was planning on going to New York University to major in philosophy and minor in political science," Maria muttered.

"I'd assumed you would do something with engineering," Skye admitted "You're good with computers."

"I'm good with money," Maria corrected "I can run money through a dozen of dark organizations until it is completely untraceable but I still have problems with ITunes."

"Why not become a banker or something?" Skye asked, sitting beside Maria.

"Just because I can doesn't mean I enjoy it. I'm much more interested in money in a metaphysical sense; it's all just a social construct, you know," Maria said, Skye smiling slightly.

"Wait, hold on; you said you _were_ going to... Why the past tense?"

"Do you _seriously_ think we're going to get out of this unscathed?" Maria asked.

Skye swallowed hard before sitting beside her friend, giving a long, shuddering sigh.

Maria looked over at her before leaning and giving her a tight hug, which Skye slowly returned.

.

"What on Earth are you two doing?" Simmons demanded, awaking the two girls in quarantine.

"Mind out of the gutter, Jemma," Skye said groggily.

"It's a bit difficult when you two are spooning," Fitz replied.

"Grown women occasionally cuddle. Go away," Maria muttered.

"I just wanted to get some blood samples. But if you two are busy, I can-," Simmons started.

"Ha ha," Maria said, sitting up and yawning "Take your damn samples."

FitzSimmons entered the quarantine in their hazmat suits, Simmons going to work on Skye's arm, not paying attention as Fitz started on Maria.

He pulled out the needle and as he pressed it against Maria's skin, it _snapped_.

Fitz and Maria both froze, exchanging panicked looks.

"Fitz, are you done?" Simmons asked, Fitz staring at Maria, who bit her lip.

"… I grabbed the wrong kit; hold on, let me grab the right one," Fitz said, leaving the quarantine area as Simmons just sighed and followed after him.

After a few more moments, Fitz returned alone, sat down beside Maria, and pulled out a different needle.

"What was that?" He asked softly, sending a side look towards Skye, who'd put her headphones on and was on her laptop.

"… I… I don't know," Maria replied softly as Fitz began to draw blood "Are you sure it wasn't the needle? This one works fine."

"… This one was made for Asgardians, Maria; pure Vibranium… Even then I had some trouble getting it in."

Maria took a deep shaky breathe.

"It's okay, just breathe," Fitz said, pulling the needle out of her arm.

"But-."

"No, it'll be alright," Fitz said.

"… Skye," Maria said softly.

"Not yet… Let's wait for the results."

"… I'd hug you but I feel like the suit would get in the way," Maria said, Fitz smiling.

"We'll be able to soon, just wait."

.

"I switched both of your samples with the old ones."

"The new samples are different?" Skye asked as Fitz wrapped her hand.

"Drastically. But until everyone around here calms down, I don't think we should tell anybody," Fitz said "What with the way Simmons is acting. I'm thinking we should just keep it between us. Keep you two safe, until we figure it out, okay?"

Skye nodded and dropped to her knees to hug Fitz, crying softly as he comforted her.

"This is all my fault. I could've stopped her. I let this happen and I'm so sorry," Skye cried softly "… There is something very wrong with me."

"You're just different now… Both of you are just different now, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Fitz looked up at Maria, who was still sitting on the bed, but had moved since he last looked; now hugging her legs like a kid.

Fitz gave a sigh.

She _was_ a kid.

A kid that had been stabbed, ridiculed, and changed by alien technology.

"Maria, are you alright?"

And kids only want one thing after a trauma like this.

"… I want to go home."

.

"Are you sure you don't want to stick around?" Phil asked, Maria smiling.

"No… I found what I wanted to find and… I miss home," Maria shrugged "But, if you ever need any help, feel free to call me or drop by Stark Tower."

"I'll keep that in mind," Phil said.

"Let me take a guess and say that I'm not allowed to tell the Avengers about you?" Maria asked.

"Probably for the best," Phil agreed.

"Okay, but you are on your own when it gets out," Maria said, Phil smiling.

"Fair enough. It was good working with you, Miss Stark."

"You too, Phil."

.

"So, really leaving," Skye said, Maria smiling sadly.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were running away," Fitz said.

"Running away from my problems is what I do best… You know, you two could come with me."

"What?" Skye frowned.

"Find you jobs at SI. Tony would love you two. And you could get some Avengers' guidance on all this."

Skye and Fitz exchanged a shocked look.

"… I can't, Maria, they're my family," Skye said, Fitz nodding along as Maria gave a melancholy smile.

"I thought you would say something like that. But, it was worth a shot," Maria said, smiling "See you two around."

"Bye, Maria."

.

Maria sighed as she plopped down in a hotel room in Barcelona; her flight would be there tomorrow morning, but for now she had to wait.

And contemplate everything that had happened to her.

The number one question on her mind was why?

Why had she changed?

Where did the alien biology in her come from? The staff?

No, because Phil wouldn't be able to change, so-.

Suddenly there was a burst of blue energy around the entire room, and for a brief moment, Maria panicked as she thought _she_ was doing it.

But, no, there was a man and a woman in front of her as the energy faded away.

What first caught Maria's eye was that the man had none. Eyes, that is. He simply had skin covering the spot where they were usually.

And then she looked at the woman.

She was _beautiful_.

Probably in her early forties with black hair all the way down to her hips, perfect porcelain skin, and almost black eyes.

Eyes just like Maria's.

"Hello."

Maria just stared at the woman.

"I suppose we gave you quite a shock. But we felt it would be best to come forward without any secrets."

Her voice was as smooth and sweet as honey.

"W-Who are you?" Maria asked, wincing at the wobbliness of her tone.

"My name is Bella, and this is Gordon," She said, Gordon nodding.

"What do you want?"

"To speak with you… To help you."

"… You went through the mist too," Maria said slowly.

"We both did," Bella confirmed.

"How do you want to help me?" Mari asked.

"We'll show you," Bella replied before Gordon grabbed both of them and there was sudden tight feeling.

When Maria managed to pull away, her jaw dropped.

They were somewhere else.

It seemed to be midday, so different time zones.

And it was gorgeous.

Mountains everywhere Maria looked, beautiful flowers, and a small village a little bit away.

"Leave us Gordon."

"Where are we?" Maria asked as Bella walked her to a gazebo that overlooked a large part of the valley.

"We call this place Afterlife," Bella caught Maria's look and smiled "It's a place for people like us to learn how to control and use their gifts."

"The ones we get from the mist?" Maria asked, Bella smiling and nodding "What if I don't want to stay?"

"We won't force you. Gordon will take you back. But we'd prefer it if you stayed, Maria," Bella said, stroking Maria's hair, which, normally, would make Maria recoil, but it felt rather _nice_.

"How did you know I went through the mist?" Maria asked softly.

"We have people watching," Was all Bella said "If you stay here, I will personally help you unlock your powers and use them to your fullest potential."

"… I have a question."

"Of course," Bella smiled.

"How come I changed? What made me so special?" Maria asked, Bella looking away.

"The ability to change is passed down through blood," Bella explained.

"So, my dad-."

"Not your father," Bella cut her off, slightly sharp.

"You mean my mother?" Maria asked softly "But, how do you kn-."

Bella looked at her as Maria cut herself off.

 _Oh_.

"… I'm sorry it took us this long to meet," Bella said after a moment.

"Oh my god," Maria said, covering her mouth with her hand.

For a moment she wondered if Bella was telling the truth, but she pushed that thought away; of course she was.

"I always was curious what you were like… And you turned out _so_ beautiful."

"I…"

Bella took a few hesitant steps forward before pulling Maria into a tight hug. Maria buried her face in her neck, smelling her sweet perfume.

"I thought you were dead," Maria muttered into Bella's shoulder as tears began to spill in earnest.

 _Why hadn't she come for her?_

"I know. I'm sorry."

Her question seemed to wash away under Bella's words; what did it matter?

"Hey, Donna, I was wondering-." The boy that had been hurrying over to them cut off, but they pulled away from the embrace anyway "Sorry." He then ran off.

"I thought you said your name is Bella," Maria said.

"It is," Bella said simply, waving her hand before carrying on "Will you be staying?"

Of _course_ she would be staying, she wasn't about to let her own mother go, especially after all this time.

"What about my dad?" Maria asked.

"Do you honestly think he'll accept you after this?" Bella asked, sounding slightly bitter.

"But, he has the Avengers, it's not like-."

"We are _nothing_ like the Avengers," Bella said "We are more than that. We are things your father and his Avengers could never understand." Then she smiled and became less confrontational "Go home, and who knows what they'll think of you… But if you stay here, you will become one of the best of us."

Bella was right, her father would probably treat her like a science experiment, and she deserved more than that. She deserved to be with these people who were like her. _Her_ people.

"… Will you stay?" Bella asked.

"Of course," Maria replied, smiling happily and hugging her _mother_ again. Feeling so happy and excited, she wouldn't be surprised if she exploded.

Feeling so happy and so excited that in response, she felt some soft tendrils of love come through the bond to her, reminding her of the two people that were out there that loved her.

 _Wait_.

Maria frowned slightly as she remembered that dream…

Or was it a memory?

Bella hugged her closer and Maria shook that thought away; why focus on nightmares when she had her mother?

 _"Hey, Donna, I was wondering-."_

 _"I thought you said your name is Bella."_

 _"It is."_

Maria frowned; why would her mother lie about her name?

That thought began to flow away as she reminded herself that this was her _mother_.

That she'd never met.

But, she was here now.

But, why not before?

She needed to stop asking silly questions and ruining the moment.

… When did she ever think like that?

Answer: Never.

Maria jerked out of her mother's grasp, who frowned.

"What is it?"

"Why did you give me up?" Maria asked, feeling her mind begin to clear and the part of her insisting just to let it go fade away as if it shouldn't have been there in the first place _._

"What? I-."

"Don't you _dare_ say you didn't. Because it seems like a person with _your_ powers could easily keep what they wanted."

"I never told you my gifts," Bella replied, frowning.

"No. But you've been using them on me this entire time so I would like some honesty;" Maria said "Did you give me up because of my marks?"

It was quiet for a long moment.

Bella seemed to deflate, and when she looked back up, there was known of the beauty that Maria had seen before.

"… Of course we did. We couldn't have someone like you in our ranks."

Maria let out a harsh laugh.

"And _then,_ since I went through the mist you decided it was best to get me on your side using whatever weird manipulation you've been using on me."

"Maria," Bella started, trying to be soft, but Maria could tell she was trying to use her powers on her again "I wasn't lying when I said you would be better off here. It's true I have some trouble accepting your… _destiny_ but-."

"I'll be better off with the people who think I'm a whore than with people that care about me?" Bella opened her mouth, but Maria cut her off, not letting Bella take over her head again "No. Listen. Your teleporting pal is going to take me back to the hotel and you are _never_ going to come near me again." Maria pushed past her and started walking to the village that Gordon did before she turned back around and walked back up to Bella.

"And I want you to know something, _Belladonna_ , the _only_ reason I haven't physically harmed and/or killed you, is because I have two people on the other side of this bond doing their _very best_ to calm me down."

Then Maria turned her back on Bella and walked away.

.

Maria smiled tiredly as the elevator doors in Stark Tower slid open and she was greeted with the sight of Pepper.

"God, I've missed you," Pepper said, pulling Maria into a hug "How was it?"

"Great. Listen, is Dad home?" Maria asked, Pepper frowning at her terseness.

"Yeah, in the lab with Bruce. Is everything alright; you look a little sad."

Maria sighed; she'd spent the night crying softly as tender and sweet love flowed through the bond, trying to cheer her up.

"The jury's still out on that one."

.

"Hey, I'm home!" Maria called, Tony and Bruce looking up from whatever they were working on.

"Hey, Munchkin," Tony said, smiling before looking back down at his work.

"Tony's in a bit of binge at the moment," Bruce said apologetically.

"I was actually wondering if you guys could help me with something."

"What?" Bruce asked, looking at Maria before freezing "… Um, Tony?"

"Hm?"

"You should probably look at this."

Tony sighed and raised his head before he froze just as Bruce did.

"So, pretty sure I gained super powers," Maria said.

As she held one of the work tables over her head with one hand.


	4. Chapter 3

_They were in the meadow again; she was in the blue dress, surrounded by the white flowers._

 _She didn't acknowledge her at first; opting to play with the flowers she was sitting in._

 _After a moment, she gestured for her to sit down next to her, before laying back in the flowers and smiling up at her._

 _The recipient bit her lip as she wondered if it was going to be one of the good ones or bad ones._

 _"Why haven't you come for me?"_

 _Bad one._

 _"I-We will soon. I promise." She lay down beside her, both of them turning to face each other._

 _"I'm lonely."_

 _She felt her heart ache at her words._

 _"Only a little bit longer, My Love. Soon, we'll be together." She promised, pushing strands of hair out of her face and cupping her cheek._

 _Before she began to lean into kiss her and…_

 _._

Pietro smiled slightly as his sister jerked awake, breathing heavily.

"They're happening more." It wasn't a question.

Wanda nodded, pushing her hair out of her face and swinging her legs over the side of her cot, facing away from Pietro.

"That's good, right?"

Wanda shrugged as she moved to grab the water that the HYDRA agents had delivered for her.

"Was it the meadow or the work site?"

"Meadow."

Pietro smiled; Wanda preferred the meadow. The dreams remained unchanged except for the location; sometimes a beautiful meadow, sometimes a dirty, dark, metal work site.

"What's she like?"

"I told you; I can't remember what she looks like," Wanda said, sounding sad. It was like it was on the tip of her tongue, but it was slowly slipping away the longer she was awake.

"I know, but what is she _like."_ Pietro asked.

"… She's… _perfection_ ," Wanda said as Pietro's eyes fluttered shut in a desperate attempt to see her like Wanda got to.

"Always asking why we haven't retrieved her yet?"

"Yes," Wanda lied.

She already knew that her brother was jealous of the fact that she got to see her in her dreams, it wouldn't do much good to tell him that occasionally, she _wouldn't_ ask why they hadn't come for her, but instead would curl up in Wanda's lap, allowing Wanda to put flowers in her hair.

But the moment Wanda tried to kiss her, the dream would fade away and Wanda would awaken, feeling all the happiness start to drain out of her.

"We'll find her soon," Wanda said, not reassuringly, but simply _knowing_.

"And she'll be _ours_ ," Pietro agreed.

.

"Good morning," Steve said, smiling at Maria as he made coffee, the girl just giving him a bleary look before going to the whiteboard hanging on the fridge and replacing the fifteen with a zero on the 'days since Maria pulled a door off its hinges.'

"Trouble sleeping?" Natasha asked, looking immaculate already.

"I fell into the YouTube wormhole," Maria muttered, plopping down onto a chair and giving a tired smile as Clint passed her a cup of coffee "My dad's not up yet?"

"He and Dr. Banner were up late last night in the lab," JARVIS said, Maria smiling.

"Thanks, Jarv."

"Of course, Miss Maria."

"So, am I allowed out today or am I still under house arrest?" Maria asked, the others exchanging looks.

"Listen, Maria-." Steve started.

"Oh come on!" Maria complained "It's been over a month; I've got a handle on it."

Steve sent a pointed look over at the whiteboard, making Maria sigh.

"I would pay attention if I went out. I'm going insane cooped up in here," Maria whined.

"… I'll talk to Tony," Steve said, Maria beaming at him before giving him a hug that knocked the wind out of him.

.

Most everyone in the world believed that Maria Stark had gotten some illness while abroad and was recuperating in the Tower.

That's just what they'd told one magazine, and the rest caught on.

US Weekly announced that she was dying of some mysterious disease, which Maria learned of while bench-pressing six hundred pounds.

With one hand.

Interestingly enough, the Onion got it the closest, saying that she was _actually_ granted powers from the Asgardians as repayment for Loki stabbing her.

During the time she'd been locked up in the Tower, Maria had been learning to control her powers, which was a bit difficult at times, hence the whiteboard.

She had also been training.

Primarily with Steve, although Thor would spar with her so she could have someone closer to her level of strength.

Natasha also teaching her a few tricks that made Maria practically collapse at the end of the day.

Training was tiring, but remarkably, Maria's body didn't alter in the slightest from the physical activity; she still was soft and curvy with undefined arms.

But, now her weak looking arms could lift a car.

.

"What's going on?" Maria asked as the Avengers bustled around.

"Hill has a lead on Loki's staff," Natasha said "We're heading out now."

"Where are you going?" Maria asked.

"Sokovia," Clint said, putting on his quiver.

"Well, don't die," Maria said, the others smiling "That'd really suck if one of you did."

"Can do, Munchkin," Tony said as he suited up.

.

Maria paced the length of the room, sighing unhappily.

"Are you alright, Miss Maria?" JARVIS asked.

"No."

Here's a little secret about Maria; she tended not to mention when she was scared or worried or anything negative, not feeling comfortable enough around most people to do it.

And, sure, she was comfortable around Pepper and Tony, but…

She'd trusted people like she trusted them before, and it'd damn near broken her.

As a result, she rarely shared her feelings with anyone _human_.

JARVIS, on the other hand…

JARVIS was a third parent; he raised her just as much as Tony and Pepper did.

And he wouldn't let her down like people would.

"What's wrong?"

"… I can help," Maria said "I _know_ I can. But, they won't give me a chance."

"You're a bit young to be putting yourself in life threatening situations, Maria."

Maria smiled slightly, whenever it was just her and JARVIS, he dropped the Miss.

"I know, but… Isn't it my _responsibility_ to help? To protect those who need it?" Maria sighed, and rubbed her eyes "All I know is that _I_ was protected by the others… And that maybe I was given these abilities for a reason."

"To do what?" JARVIS asked.

"I don't know," Maria admitted "Something good, I hope."

.

"Hey, Maria!"

Maria looked up as Tony jogged up to her.

"What's up?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… I'm fine," Maria said slowly "Are _you_ alright?"

"Yeah, fine," Tony said distractedly, walking away as Steve walked up.

"How'd it go?" Maria asked.

"Alright. Got the staff, but we ran into some enhanced and Clint got injured."

"Is he alright?" Maria asked worriedly

"He'll be fine," Steve confirmed, Maria sighing in relief.

"Who were the enhanced; what could they do?"

"They were twins; Pietro and Wanda Maximoff," Steve said, pulling up the security footage that Hill had shown him "The way Hill put it 'He's fast and she's weird.'"

Maria looked at the footage of them for a moment.

"Why are all the gorgeous ones homicidal maniacs?" She asked, Steve making a disgusted noise "Oh, does my sexuality make you uncomfortable, Captain Wholesomeness?"

"No. Your usage of Batman and Robin quotes does."

"Ten points to Gryffindor."

"Much better."

.

"Aren't you a little young for a place like this?" Natasha asked as she mixed a drink, making Maria laugh.

"Don't tell anyone, but I got a fake ID."

"Want a drink? Promise not to tell your parents," Natasha offered.

"Nah, alcohol doesn't affect me anymore," Maria admitted, Natasha raising an eyebrow.

"And you know this how?"

 _Oh, you know, tried to get drunk after learning my mother was evil_.

"Take a wild guess," Maria said aloud.

"That brings the amount of people that can't get drunk on this team up to three," Natasha said, but before Maria could comment on the usage of the word team, Bruce came over, so Maria opted to slip away.

"Romanov wouldn't give you a drink?" Rhodey asked as she wandered over to him.

"She offered. But I can't be around the sexual tension without wanting to stab myself in the eye."

"Tell me about it," Tony said rolling his eyes.

"Aw, is someone jealous of Natasha?" Maria teased, Tony cuffing the back of her head.

Maria heard the beginning notes of Uma Thurman and reached for her phone.

"Who is it?" Tony asked.

"Jade," Maria said, walking away from the group and into the hallway to answer.

"Hello?"

"Heeey!"

Maria had to suppress a smile.

"Are you at a party right now?"

"Yeah! College is _awesome_ ," Jade slurred

"I bet it is."

"How's-How're you feeling?" Jade asked.

"Better, thank you for asking," Maria said "How many drinks have you had?"

"Only, like, two."

"Mhm," Maria said disbelievingly "Listen, do you need a ride? 'Cause I can send a driver to wherever you are."

"Nahhh."

"You sure?" Maria asked.

"When're _you_ gonna come here?"

"The party?" Maria asked, frowning.

"Nooo; college."

"Sometime, I don't know," Maria said, starting to feel sad.

"Too busy smooching Captain America?" Jade asked, hiccupping slightly at the end.

"Exactly," Maria said "Listen, I'm gonna go."

"Mkay. I love you!"

"Don't go home with anybody. And don't drive," Maria said sternly.

"Don't you love meee?"

Maria smiled slightly at her friend's antics before replying far too sincerely for the current conversation.

"Yeah, I love you. Bye, Jade."

"Buh-Bye!"

Maria hung and smiled slightly at her phone, feeling wistfulness for a life she _knew_ she could never have.

"Girlfriend?" Clint asked, coming up behind her.

"Drunken best friend," Maria said before nodding at Clint's phone "Girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

.

Once everyone cleared out, the Avengers, Maria, and Dr. Cho sat together, Thor placing Mjolnir down the table.

""Whosoever, be he worthy, shall have the power", whatever man! It's a trick!" Clint announced from his spot on the floor.

"Please, be my guest," Thor offered, chuckling as he gestured at Mjolnir. It went quiet for a moment as everyone gave Clint a look.

"Really?" He asked before standing up to walk over to it.

"Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," Tony said, everyone chuckling softly.

"You know I've seen this before," Clint said to Thor before reaching down to try to lift it. After a moment of struggling he laughed "How do you do it?"

"Silent judgment," Tony said.

"Please," Clint said "Stark, by all means."

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge. Its physics," He said, putting his hand through the loop on Mjolnir "So, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?"

"Yes of course,' Thor replied.

"I will be reinstituting Prima Noctis," Tony informed them.

"Well, I'll just go vomit in a garbage can," Maria said from her spot beside Steve.

Tony sent her a look before he attempted to lift Mjolnir; nothing.

"Be right back."

He returned with an Iron Man arm and attempted to lift it.

Nada.

Tony and Rhodey with Iron Man arms.

Nope.

"Are you even pulling?"

"Are you on my team?"

"Just represent; pull!"

Bruce attempted to make a lame joke, which was met by awkward silence.

"C'mon, Cap," Tony called.

Maria caught sight of some slight wiggling; not surprising in the least.

Steve gestured to Maria, who laughed.

"I have better things to do then be humiliated."

"Like what?" Steve asked.

"Like challenge Thor to an arm wrestling match."

Maria and Thor had been a bit uncertain with each other; her only having met one Asgardian, who killed her, and him; being told his entire life that she was diseased. But, since she'd gained her powers, they'd found some middle ground, and were now getting along just fine.

"This won't end in your humiliation?" Thor asked sarcastically, everyone making a noise at that.

"Bring it on, old man."

Maria set her arm on the coffee table, Thor going across from her and grabbing her hand.

"Ready," Steve started "Set. Go."

For the first time in a while, Maria let herself use all of her strength.

And after a few minutes,

Thor's hand hit the table.

"You were saying?" Maria asked.

"Your all still not worthy," Thor informed her, making her laugh before a high pitched sound started.

"... Worthy... No... How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

Maria's eyes widened as one of her dad's robots stumbled in.

"Stark," Steve said.

"JARVIS," Tony said.

"Sorry I was asleep... Or... I was a dream..."

Thor pushed Maria behind him slowly.

"Reboot, we got a buggy suit," Tony said, tapping on his phone.

"...There was a terrible noise... And I was tangled in... in... strings... I had to kill the other guy... He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve asked.

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who made you?" Maria asked, the robot tilting his head at her before a recording began to play.

"I see a suit of armor around the world."

It was Tony's voice.

"Ultron!" Bruce said, exchanging a look with Tony.

"In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this... chrysalis... But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

"What mission?" Natasha asked.

"Peace in our time."

Then the other suits burst through the wall.

.

Natasha was trained to notice things.

Like how Maria had quite a strong protective streak.

Before, she'd been unable to really act on those instincts.

But, now…

Natasha had started to drop subtle hints to Stark and Rogers about instating her on the team, or at least training her to one day be a part of it.

Neither of them picked up on what Natasha was trying to tell them.

But, as Maria tore off one of the robots heads with her bare hands, Natasha had to think they were noticing now.

.

"… He _killed_ Jarvis," Maria said quietly, Tony giving her a sympathetic look.

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand," Thor said as Maria bit her lip.

"I'm sorry, I think it's funny. I think it's a hoot that you don't get why we need this!" Tony said.

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time..." Bruce warned.

"Really? That's it? You just roll over and show your belly, every time somebody snarls?"

"Only when I've created a murder-bot."

"We didn't, we weren't even close! Were we close to an interface?"

"Well, you did something right, and you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different from SHIELD," Steve pointed out.

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole."

"No, it's never come up," Rhodey said, deadpanned.

"Recall that?!" Tony yelled.

"A hostile army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealer all the live long day. But, that up there, that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating them?"

"Together," Steve said.

"We'll lose," Tony said.

"We do that together too," Steve stated, his eyes locking with Maria's.

.

As the Avengers prepared to leave for Wakanda, Maria jogged up.

"I'm coming too."

"That's an awful idea," Tony said.

"Well, we know where I get that from, don't we?" Maria asked before turning back to Steve.

Steve studied her for a long moment.

"Natasha?" Steve asked.

"You have to fight to kill," Natasha warned Maria.

"I was already planning on it."

Natasha nodded her head at Steve.

"Clint?" Steve asked.

"Once you're in the fight, you're in; no backing out," Clint said.

"I know."

Clint nodded.

"Bruce?"

"Are you sure you want this?" Bruce asked "You'll never be able to completely leave this life once you start it."

"Haven't I already?" Maria asked.

"Yeah…" Bruce nodded his head, Tony making an annoyed sound.

"Thor?"

"The Lady Stark has bested me in combat many a time; it would be an honor to fight beside her," Thor said, making Maria smile at him before turning back to Steve, who she knew had veto power.

"Welcome to the Avengers."


	5. Chapter 4

"Your sentimentality is adorable," Ultron said sarcastically

"We won't help you unless you swear," Wanda warned, the Maximoffs glaring at him.

Ultron sighed.

"I, Ultron, swear that once you find your soulmate I won't touch a hair on her head. Happy?"

"Could've done without the sarcasm," Pietro muttered.

"I don't know why you two care so much; she's probably going to reject you once she finds out about your abilities," Ultron then looked over at them "Whoa! No need to be so violent about it!"

Wanda's hands grew a brighter red as the red began to flow out of her eyes.

"If you _ever_ disrespect what's ours again, we will kill every last one of you."

.

"What? No!" Tony protested, making Maria roll her eyes.

"Five against one. Sorry, Tony," Steve said simply before turning to Maria "Do you have something to wear?"

"Yeah, I'll just get my Lycra cat suit out of the closet," Maria replied, giving Steve a look.

"Tasha?" Steve asked, looking over.

"Mobility is the most important; she's impervious to most knives," Natasha muttered, standing up "Yeah, I got something."

"I'm sorry, but does no one care that her _father_ is saying no?" Tony asked.

"I would _really_ suggest not playing that card right now," Maria said, Tony frowning at her tone.

"Are you _mad_ at me?"

"Yes! I'm _very_ mad at you!" Maria said, turning to face her father "Oh, what? Just because I'm your daughter, I have to side with you on every issue?"

"You side with _them?"_

"Yeah, I do. And it's not because you're my dad and I'm trying to rebel. It's because you don't realize what you're doing."

"Please, enlighten me, what am I doing?" Tony asked.

"Okay, so, you made a murderous robot that wants to kill us all."

"No one's debating that point," Bruce pointed out.

"Yeah, but no one's pointed out that even if it _had_ worked, if it was _perfect_ , it still would've bad!" Maria said "You see a suit of armor around the world, but… In what world would that ever work? In what _universe_ are the people free and happy with you holding a gun to everyone's head?"

"You tell yourself you're doing it for the greater good of humanity, but you're not; you're doing it out of _fear_. As a wise man once said 'Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering' and with that much power and that much fear…" Maria trailed off like she was at a loss for words at what she envisioned.

"My point is that… I'm scared of the fact that I'm _glad_ that Ultron went Skynet and killed someone I consider to be a _parent_ , because the alternative… The alternative is something far, _far_ worse… And I'm scared because you two _hoped_ and _prayed_ for that alternative to become a reality."

.

It was silent on the quinjet, Maria sitting beside Steve, and pulling on the cuffs of Natasha's leather jacket.

"You really feel that strongly about this?" Steve asked.

"I mean… Yeah, how can I _not_?"

"… You cared about JARVIS a lot, didn't you?"

"He was there; whenever Dad and Pepper would go save the world. Jarvis was always there," Maria said, shrugging and looking down.

"We'll get Ultron," Steve promised.

"But, that won't make it better."

.

Maria did her best to stay quiet as she crept to position; Tony, Thor, and Steve were confronting Ultron while She, Natasha, and Clint were surrounding him.

As she waited, she heard an accented voice speaking.

She peeked and saw the enhanced twins Steve had mentioned.

They had accents too?

Fuck sake.

It was like the universe was _mocking_ her and her preferences.

Anyway, back to killer robots.

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan."

Maria had to admit, for an evil, murdering robot, he sure as hell shared that official Stark brand of humor.

.

Pietro sped around the battleground, before noticing the hammer that Thor had thrown.

He could use th-.

WHAT THE HELL?

Pietro groaned as he landed on the ground underneath the walkway before he heard light, melodic laughter.

He looked up to glare at the person laughing, when he froze.

She was _stunning._

Dark brown hair pulled into a braid, almost black eyes, and pink lips still quirked from mirth. She seemed to glow slightly and for one moment Pietro wondered if he'd actually hit his head and died because she was _angelic_.

It had been a long time since he'd been able to _appreciate_ women, and he felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

She noticed him looking and tried to repress her laughter, but a few chuckles slipped through.

Pietro wanted to tell her not to; she could laugh at him all day long if it meant he could listen to her giggle melodiously some more.

What was _wrong_ with him?

.

 _For the first ten years of Pietro's life, he'd been a bit embarrassed of the words encircling his right wrist._

 _He was obviously destined to meet his soulmate after doing something dumb._

 _The kids at school teased him for the words._

 _And while his family would insist that they were just jealous that he had a soulmate, he still felt embarrassed._

 _But that changed once his parents…_

 _He had been too in shock to cry._

 _His parents were gone._

 _It was only him and Wanda now._

 _And then he felt it._

 _A sweet, innocent love flow through the bond to him._

 _He could tell they were worried, but mostly they were happy he was okay._

 _He wasn't ashamed ever again._

.

 ** _"Oh, I'm sorry, that wasn't very nice of me; I'll start taking you seriously."_**

.

 _Should have taken the damn shot, Maria._

But, she couldn't help it.

He'd looked like a deflated balloon.

An extremely _sexy_ deflated balloon, with a really nice a-.

 _Damn it, Maria, focus._

She'd hesitated and he'd run off.

She was equal parts embarrassed and offended (did he not see her as enough of a threat to try and incapacitate her?).

Whatever,

She'd just go back to bashing in soldiers' heads.

.

Oh, why was he such an _idiot?_

Why hadn't he said something?

Wanda.

Wanda could fix this.

.

Wanda smiled slightly as she played with the redhead's mind; hers was the worst _by far_.

She'd like to see them bounce back from this.

As she turned to go, her brother appeared in front of her.

"What is it?" She asked, Pietro looking at her with wide eyes as he bounced a bit.

"There's a girl here, she came with the Avengers."

"Do you need me to take care of her?" Wanda asked.

"No!" Pietro said "She's _ours_."

It was quiet as Wanda processed what he'd said.

" _What?"_

"You were right; she's _perfection_." Pietro beamed.

"What did you say to her?" Wanda asked.

"… I didn't," Pietro admitted "I ran away."

Wanda swore in their mother tongue, Pietro giving her an admonishing look.

"Take me to her."

.

Maria winced as she felt the crack of the man's bones; it never got less gross.

Just as she successfully cleared the metal walkway, he appeared.

"Oh, you again," Maria said, looking at the enhanced (Pietro?).

Before someone spoke from behind her.

.

 _They knew each other before she met them._

 _It always scared Maria; what if it was awkward for her to slip into the relationship?_

 _She used spend hours playing the what if game, always ending on the same thing;_

 _What if they don't want me?_

 _But that changed the night she got the call._

 _She'd run off to cry on her own for a while, not wanting to see anyone's pity._

 _She sat on her own in her room, sobbing out of pure misery._

 _And then she felt it._

 _Love washing over her like a tidal wave._

 _She never wondered if they'd want her again._

.

 ** _"Both of us, My Love."_**

.

The girl whipped around to look at her and Wanda felt like the wind had just been knocked out of her; Pietro had been telling the truth.

She was _beautiful_.

Wanda wanted nothing more than to take her far away from here and keep her safe from the Avengers and Ultron.

But for now, all she could do is smile reassuringly and wait.

She stared at her with wide eyes before she seemed to regain her voice.

.

 _Wanda spoke first._

 _And that terrified her._

 _What if she said something stupid?_

 _Whatever she said was recognizable enough that her soulmate would be shocked._

 _It terrified Wanda for a long time._

 _She started only speaking when she planned it out beforehand._

 _Until she started having the dreams._

 _During the first one, she realized…_

 _The girl sitting across from her wouldn't care, even if she did say something dumb._

 _The girl in the blue dress would love her just the same._

 _And Wanda wasn't scared anymore._

.

 ** _"What did you say?"_**

.

The beautiful, homicidal, magic woman had said her words.

And now she was smiling like Maria was the center of the universe.

.

 _It had taken Maria fourteen years to figure out._

 _And it took a gritty adaption of a fairytale to do it._

 _Jade, Maria, and a group of girls from school had gone to the movies, and they decided to see Snow White and the Huntsman._

 _But, as Maria watched she noticed that she was actually losing track of the story occasionally, and zoning out._

 _When the theater let out, the girls went out to eat and they talked about the movie, some of them going on about Chris Hemsworth and some of them making fun of the others for not adequately paying attention to the movie._

 _Finally one of them asked Maria what she thought of it, and they noticed the sort of unsure way she responded._

 _"Got distracted by Chris's gorgeous face?" Jade asked, Maria shrugging and looking down, not wanting to admit that the bits of the story that she'd lost wasn't when Hemsworth was on screen._

 _But when Kristen Stewart was._

 _After a few days, she told Tony, who'd laugh uncontrollably and said._

 _"Sweetheart, I knew that since I first read your marks."_

 _And thus began Maria's bisexuality._

 _And she never looked back._

 _._

 ** _"Exactly what you think she said, Pretty Girl."_**

.

The girl was going to hurt herself if she kept spinning around that fast.

Pietro gave her a soft smile that he'd hoped would be reassuring, but the girl didn't relax.

Instead she shoved him out of her way.

Pietro went flying back and hit the wall, groaning softly before he opened his eyes and dizzily saw his sister using her powers on her.

"What're you doing?" Pietro groaned.

"Just putting her to sleep."

The girl then fell back into Wanda's arms, who then laid her down.

"Are you alright?" Wanda asked.

"She can hit _hard_ ," Pietro said, standing and hissing slightly at the ache.

Wanda looked up at her brother and grinned, Pietro returning it.

"Keep an eye on her. I will take care of the others," Wanda said before leaning down and kissing the girl's forehead.

.

Clint Barton was 110% done with this day.

The only saving grace was the fact he _didn't_ get his mind messed with, unlike the rest of his team.

He corralled them onto the Quinjet as Tony and the Hulk fought, finally getting them all seated before he noticed what was missing.

He ran back inside the worksite.

And he felt his blood run cold.

"Let's get out of here," Tony said over the coms.

"Tony… I can't find Maria."


	6. Chapter 5

"I told you that she shouldn't come," Tony said, chopping wood with Steve.

"Tony…"

"She wasn't ready for all of that."

"Were any of us?" Steve countered "What the Maximoff kid did; none of us were ready for that. She pulled us apart like cotton candy."

"You seemed fine," Tony said, Steve frowning.

"Sorry?"

"I don't trust a guy without a dark side, call me old-fashioned."

"Maybe you haven't seen it yet," Steve said "And Maria would be fine right now if _you_ hadn't been messing around with something you couldn't control. Maria was just doing what the rest of us were doing; cleaning up _your_ mess."

"I was trying to end the fight, so she would _never_ have to take part in it. Isn't that what we do? Try to keep _innocent_ people from getting hurt."

Steve took a piece of wood and split with his hands.

"Every time someone tries to end the fight before it starts, _innocent_ people die. Every time."

.

"Why is she here?" Ultron asked, nodding at the girl in Pietro's arms.

"She's ours," Wanda said, smiling softly at the girl who was still fast asleep.

"Do you know who she is?" Ultron demanded, the twins exchanging a look "She's _Maria Stark_ as in the kid of the guy you two are trying to kill."

Wanda's hand slowed their ministrations in the girl's hair; how could such excellence come from _him?_

"Being born to Stark isn't her fault any more than it's _our_ fault that Stark did what he did," Pietro said, snarling slightly every time he said Stark.

"Besides, she's not a Stark anymore," Wanda said, smiling and resuming her movement through the girl's hair.

"She's _ours_ ," Pietro agreed as the girl shifted towards Wanda's hand.

" _Maria_ ," Wanda whispered as if it was sacred " _Maria Maximoff."_

.

Laura frowned at her husband, who was sitting and rubbing his face.

"What is it?"

"… Stark's daughter was with us."

"What?" Laura asked.

"She's got superpowers, wanted to help."

"What happened?" Laura asked

"No idea," Clint said "I was getting everyone on the Quinjet and she wasn't there. Stark and I scoped out the entire area and nothing."

"The people you were up against, do you think they…?"

"Yeah, probably," Clint said, sighing "She's a _kid_ , Laura _, seventeen_."

"Did she want to go?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, but-."

"No buts. She knew the consequences and she made the call, just like you do," Laura pointed out "… She'll be okay."

"… When she decided to go, I promised myself I'd keep an eye on her, cover if I could."

"This isn't your fault, Clint. This is the people who took her."

"Why would they take _her,_ though?" Clint asked.

"Like you said, she's a kid, they're hitting you where it hurts," Laura said "You have to not let them get to you. That's the only way you can help her right now."

.

Maria blinked open, wincing at the harsh lighting from overhead.

First thing she noticed was that she was lying on a medical bed.

Second thing was that, underneath a thin sheet, she was undressed.

She slowly sat up, grimacing slightly before she noticed the Maximoff twins standing at the far end of the room.

"Where am I?" She asked hoarsely.

"Doctor Cho's facility," Wanda said simply, taking a few steps towards Maria "Would you like some water?"

Maria nodded suspiciously and took the water Wanda offered her slowly, Wanda going back to stand by her brother. Maria took a sip and frowned.

"W-Where…" Maria's voice trembled before she cleared her throat "Where are my clothes?"

"Doctor Cho took them off to check you over," Pietro reassured "Would you like them back?"

Maria gave a nod and took the offered clothing.

"Could you _leave_?" She asked after a moment of the Maximoffs being completely stationary.

The twins exchanged a look.

"We'll be right outside," Wanda promised before leaving, her twin shutting the door behind them.

Maria gripped onto the sides of the examination table as heavy gasps began to leave her.

These two.

These were the two.

The two that complimented her in every way and fit with her like puzzle pieces.

What the _hell_ did that say about her?

Maria gave a soft sob.

No, no, no, she needed to pull herself together.

What now?

Maria stood and began to pull on her clothes as she thought.

Where ever these two were, undoubtedly Ultron was as well.

She couldn't win a fight in here.

No way could she run, either.

That left one option; play along until an opportunity presents itself.

"You can come back in," Maria called, the twins reentering the room.

It was quiet for a moment before Wanda spoke.

"I suppose we should introduce ourselves; I'm Wanda Maximoff."

"And I'm Pietro."

"Maria. My name's Maria…" She whispered "Can I see your marks?"

Both of the twins approached slowly, Pietro rolling up his sleeve and Wanda removing her glove.

Maria felt her stomach knot; that was definitely her chicken scratch.

Due to the fact her words on Pietro were long, she had to turn his hand to read it all, and as she went to move, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly, making Maria blush.

"May we see yours?" Wanda asked.

Maria rolled up her sleeve to reveal the two sets of words, the twins smiled softly as they read.

"Yes, that's ours," Wanda said softly, Maria rolling her sleeve back down.

"… If you don't mind us asking, what is the scar on your chest?" Pietro asked, Maria frowning slightly.

"Tell you what; I'll tell you that story, but in return, I want you to tell _me_ a story."

"Which one?" Wanda asked.

"The story behind why you want the Avengers dead."

The twins exchanged a look, Wanda giving a small nod to her brother.

"Fair, you go first," Pietro agreed.

"Right before the Battle of New York, Loki wanted to use me as leverage. But once he realized I couldn't be controlled, he stabbed me."

"And then what?" Pietro asked, frowning.

"I died," Maria replied, the twins recoiling slightly "I was dead for a while, but Fury had a serum that brought me back."

"… You were dead for three days," Wanda informed her, Maria frowning "Our marks; they…"

"… I'm sorry," Maria offered "That must have _sucked_."

"How could Fury bring you back?" Pietro asked.

"A serum derived from alien biology. But, it's all destroyed now. Which is good; it had catastrophic side effects for most people."

"Most people?" Wanda asked.

"Your turn," Maria countered.

The twins exchanged a look before Pietro spoke.

"We were ten, having dinner with our parents when the first shell hit, the floor falling away underneath them. We hid under a bed, before the second shell dropped. But, it didn't go off, and we were covered in rubble, able to see the shell that said Stark on the side. And as they tried to rescue us, the rubble would shift and we would think that it would set it off. We waited for two days for Stark to kill us."

It was quiet for a long moment as Maria processed what he'd said.

"… I remember that."

"What do you mean?" Wanda asked.

"I felt it," Maria said simply.

"I suppose we should apologize for that," Pietro said "Then we'll be even on the giving pain to the others by no fault of our own."

"I accept," Maria said, her lip twitching slightly "So, you two are, what, twenty-three?"

"Yes. You remember what age you were when it happened?" Wanda asked.

"I know I _look_ twelve, but jeez," Maria said, rolling her eyes.

"You misunderstand; it was bad enough that you remember exactly when it happened?" Wanda asked, seeming slightly sad.

"That was the _first_ time I felt something through the bond. No one could figure out what was wrong with me until they took me to a doctor. Even after that they made me see a psychiatrist."

"… You didn't realize what it was?" Pietro frowned.

"I was _four_ ," Maria countered, the blood draining out of the Maximoffs' faces "What?"

"You're… You're _seventeen?"_ Pietro said, sounding quietly horrified.

"Yeah, so?"

"And they make you _fight_?" Pietro demanded, louder this time as he and his twin looked furious.

"They don't _make_ me. I _choose_ to," Maria replied.

"Why?" Wanda asked.

"Why do I choose to protect others?" Maria laughed slightly "Because I was given these abilities for a reason. It's my responsibility to protect those weaker than me." Maria shrugged, smiling slightly "It's my _job_."

.

"… You don't think… You don't think they'd torture her, do you?"

Natasha winced at Bruce's question, sitting down heavily.

"You don't have to answer that."

"No, no… I don't think they would physically," Natasha said "But, maybe what the Maximoff girl did to us."

"But now she has unimpeded access," Bruce pointed out "… How many bad things could Maria have?"

"Loki," Natasha offered.

"Forgot about that," Bruce muttered.

"We all do. It's not like she acts like she's been stabbed for… Her marks," Natasha frowned "Think of all the things that people say about her marks."

"And all the things that happened with Theresa," Bruce pointed out, Natasha sighing.

"We forget what's happened to her, because she doesn't act like anything has happened to her. She's kind and cheerful… How?" Natasha asked.

"Maybe for the same reason all of those things happened," Bruce said, tapping on his wrist "She knows she has something good to look forward too."

.

The twins led her through the facility, Maria sticking close to them mostly because there seemed to be something _off_ about all the workers. The twins didn't mind, hell, they seemed _delighted_ ; their hands both on her back and their eyes always straying to her.

Finally they came to were Ultron was standing with Doctor Cho and…

Maria recoiled, the twins actually having to grab her so she wouldn't run away.

Wanda frowned, she wasn't looking at _Ultron_ though; she was looking at-

"I heard that when a person is bit by a dog, they're afraid of them no matter how docile," Ultron said conversationally "But I hadn't seen it in action until now."

"What is it, My Love?" Wanda asked, Maria biting her lip.

"T-That's the staff that stabbed me."

"It won't hurt you now," Pietro promised, only to gain a sarcastic look from Maria.

"I'm throwing that thing in a volcano first chance," Maria muttered, Ultron rolling his eyes.

"All yours." He took the power source out and threw the remaining staff at her, which she barely caught, making her glare.

"Thanks."

Maria watched in interest as Ultron began to upload himself to a new body in the tank.

Suddenly Wanda cried out, Maria feeling an immediate want to protect.

"What is it?" Maria asked.

"I can see his mind. I can see his plan."

Ultron sighed "I will give humanity a chance."

"And then you'll destroy them," Wanda replied, subtly using her powers and clearing Dr. Cho's mind.

As Dr. Cho started a distraction, Pietro swept Maria up into his arms, and they were gone.

.

Erik frowned at Thor's tense body language.

"What's wrong?"

"… A young maiden, a friend, has been taken by the enemy in combat."

"Taken as in kidnapped?"

"Aye. She is a mighty warrior, but she is still young. I fear for her safety."

"… You care about her a lot," Erik observed.

"I owe her much. Before, when I came to this realm, my eyes were clouded to the truth of humanity touched by the bonds. She has opened them through kindness which I did not deserve."

"The bonds?" Erik asked "As in Soulmates?"

"Loki harmed her for it. Nearly killed her. Even so, she was kind and patient with me," Thor said "She has helped me become far more enlightened than my father would prefer."

.

 _It had happened before they'd joined HYDRA._

 _It had started with fear._

 _Then utter confusion._

 _And then…_

 _It snapped._

 _Wanda screamed, the other tenants in their overcrowded apartment building came running to see what was the matter, to find both twins staring in horror at their wrists._

 _Now blank._

 _The term "You never know what you have until it's gone," applied here more than ever._

 _The realization that they used to feel so much from her, their love, and it was now gone…_

 _The other tenants felt pity for them; trying to give them extra food and money._

 _They refused it._

 _What was the point?_

 _They had nothing to live for, now._

 _For two days, they didn't move, just sat on their bed, wasting away._

 _But on the third day…_

 _There was a burst of light and the Maximoffs jumped; the marks had reappeared on their wrists._

 _With it came some confusion and surprise, feelings the Maximoffs shared._

 _But, what they felt the most was love._

 _They sent as much love over to her as possible._

 _And they resolved to never let her get hurt like that again._

 _._

"We had a clear shot; why did we run?" Maria demanded.

"We won't risk you," Pietro said simply.

"So you'll just risk the entirety of mankind instead?" Maria replied, Wanda grabbing her forearms softly and looking her in the eyes, Maria gasping slightly at the pain in them.

"We lost you once. We won't do it again."

.

.

.

I changed the flashback for the Maximoffs, because I realized it didn't make sense for them to be with HYDRA before HYDRA had the staff, especially since I implied that they had powers.


	7. Chapter 6

"You took a seventeen year old on a mission and then you _lost her?"_

"In my defense, I said she shouldn't come," Tony said, gaining the evil eye from his teammates.

"You six are supposed to be Earth's mightiest heroes and you need a kid to help you, who you promptly lost." Nick Fury groaned "Why did I assemble this team?"

"To fight the battles you couldn't," Steve replied "And we're up against something we've never faced before."

"What, babysitting?" Fury asked sarcastically before sighing "… The enhanced, they're the ones that took Stark's kid?"

"Yes, sir," Natasha said "Pietro and Wanda Maximoff."

"I know who they are; Hill filled me in," Nick said.

Slowly, the pieces started to shift together, and only because of his lifelong training did he not outwardly react.

Nick stood to leave and started walking away.

"What are you going to do?" Steve asked.

"Something dramatic, I hope."

Only once he was outside, did he let himself react.

He laughed.

And wished he'd be there to see the look on Stark's face.

.

"So, on the run, not _nearly_ as interesting as I'd thought it'd be," Maria said conversationally.

"Be thankful," Wanda replied, squeezing Maria's hand softly as they weaved through the crowd.

"We wouldn't have to be on the run if you guys would just take me to the tower," Maria said.

"No," Pietro said, Maria sighing.

"I'm really not digging this whole 'make choices for Maria' thing you guys got going on."

"The farther away we are from the Avengers, the safer you'll be," Pietro said.

"My safety isn't at the forefront of my mind right now," Maria pointed out.

"It should be," Wanda said.

"So, we're just going to stick our heads in the sand?" Maria asked "Hope everyone else takes care of it?"

"If that is what it takes," Pietro said.

Maria began to chuckle.

"What is?" Wanda asked, smiling at Maria's giggles even though she had a suspicion they were aimed at her and Pietro.

"You two don't get how this works."

"What do you mean?" Pietro asked.

"Once you're in, you're _in_. There's no going back from what you two started," Maria smiled and shrugged "Fine, let's not go to the tower. We don't need to find trouble. Because, trouble is going to find us."

.

 _There's not nearly enough literature on soulmates._

Maria had thought this quite a few times in her life.

There were about two books on Soulmates. Both of them dull and both of them only referring to a single bond.

The books explained the basic mechanics of it and theories about how they're created, but none of them addressed this.

It had been about eight hours since Maria had met the Maximoffs and she was 99% sure she was in love with them.

They were just so… _perfect_.

She would find herself staring at Wanda or blushing a bright red when Pietro would lean to whisper something in her ear.

And it wasn't _just_ looks (although, _hot damn,_ someone up there loved her).

They were cute too; Maria had been speaking and casually referred to Pietro as "Baby."

He'd almost tripped.

(For the record, she'd called Wanda Angel Face and she'd very nearly slapped someone from turning to face her to fast).

The books didn't do the feelings justice, especially the need to be close.

They touched her a lot, but not in a sexual way; they would run their fingers through her hair, or place a hand on her back. And it started feeling weird if they _weren't_ touching her. Hell, she'd started initiating touches; she'd grab their hands, tug on the ends of Wanda's hair, or pinch Pietro in the side (though, the last two, they usually responded in kind).

It was like they were magnets for each other, and it was extremely uncomfortable to not be near to each other.

That's why she hadn't run off to the Tower by herself even though she'd had plenty chances to slip away; she couldn't stand the thought of being that far away from them for any amount of time.

So, she stayed, waiting for _something_ to happen as she fell more and more in love with the Maximoffs.

.

There was surprising lack of "I told you so," when trouble finally did find them.

"Please."

The Maximoffs looked away from the TV showing footage of the current fight on a train and at Maria, who was looking at them with wide, pleading eyes.

"I'm not asking you two to forgive my dad, or even to fight, but please let me help them."

Pietro and Wanda exchanged a look, Wanda nodding slightly at her brother, who then put his hands on Maria's shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes.

"Stay here."

"Wait, What?"

They were gone before she could finish the question.

.

"I just need a minute," Pietro said, breathing heavily from moving people out of the way of the train's path, Wanda frowning.

"I don't think you deserve that."

Steve shoved Pietro out of the way and pinned Wanda to the wall by her throat.

"If _either_ of you use your powers, I will snap her neck. Understood?" Steve asked, Pietro nodding slowly "Where is Maria?"

The Maximoffs exchanged a look, but both kept their mouths shut, even as Steve tightened his hold on Wanda's neck, making her give a choked gasp.

"Steve!"

Steve turned his head to see Maria making her way over to him.

He let Wanda go, although, not gently, as he all but threw her into Pietro.

"Maria, thank god," He said, pulling Maria into a hug.

What he didn't see, was that over his shoulder, Maria ran her eyes worriedly over Wanda and Pietro, the twins nodding at her slightly.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, pulling away.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Maria, what's going on?" Steve asked, shooting a suspicious glance at the twins.

"When Ultron was uploading himself into the new body, Wanda was able to see into his head; he doesn't _just_ want to destroy the Avengers. He wants to end the world."

Steve frowned, not because of the information, he'd already assumed that, but because of how easily the Maximoff girl's name fell from Maria's lips.

"Maria, what _else_ is going on?"

Maria looked over at the twins, motioning with her head slightly for them to come over to her. Pietro appeared beside her, standing far closer to her than Steve would have liked.

"Show him," Maria said, Pietro nodding slightly and rolling up his right sleeve before extending it towards Steve.

It took a minute for Steve to process what they were showing him.

"He's…"

"… Wanda is as well," Maria said.

Steve looked between the three standing there, watching him anxiously.

Maria, with all of her kindness, had been saddled with these two. Two people who were currently wanting to _kill_ her father, and had actually worked with HYDRA to try to reach their goal.

Only one thought came to mind.

"Fuck."

.

As Tony and Bruce worked with the body Ultron had created, they almost didn't notice when the others entered the lab.

"Maria!"

Tony pulled her into a hug, making her smile.

"I'm fine," She promised softly before Tony pulled away from her, Bruce gave her a side hug as Tony turned on the Maximoffs.

"What the _hell_ are those two doing here?"

The Maximoffs returned the glare that Tony was giving them.

"They're here to help," Steve said.

"And you trust them? After everything they've done?"

"They've given me compelling reasons why I should," Steve said simply.

"Oh, yeah, that's real reassuring," Tony said sarcastically "How do we know they aren't just playing us before helping Ultron 'Save the World.'"

"We should not be the ones your team worries about," Wanda said "Ultron can't see the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that from?"

"Remind me again why we're not pitching these two off of the roof?" Tony asked.

"Dad, that's enough," Maria said, Tony swinging around to face his daughter, studying her for a second before he spoke.

"What did they do to you?"

"What're you talking about?" Maria asked.

"Last I checked you hated being the damsel in distress. Then they came and _kidnapped_ you, and you, what, don't mind?"

"I'm sorry that I realized that for the greater good I needed to put my hurt pride on the backburner," Maria replied.

"Hurt _pride?_ Nothing else?" Tony demanded "You're not proving to me that witchy didn't mess with your brain."

"I didn't warp her mind in the slightest," Wanda said "I _only_ put her to sleep."

"Because you would be the one to tell the truth about that?" Bruce asked.

"Tony, she's fine," Steve said tiredly.

"How do you know that?" Tony asked "She was with them for a while."

"Wanda didn't mess with my head!" Maria protested "And I don't know how to convince you otherwise."

"It's Wanda now?" Bruce asked, Tony nodding in agreement.

"That's what I'm talking about; something happened that you're not telling us."

Maria pursed her lips and looked away, Tony rounding on the twins again.

"What did you do?"

"We didn't do a thing," Pietro said, Tony glaring at his smug tone.

"Did you hurt her?"

"Not in the slightest," Wanda said, mirroring her twin's self-satisfaction.

"Stay away from Maria."

"Not going to happen," Pietro said, his voice calm but with a definite edge to it.

Tony's eyes narrowed at Pietro's tone, taking note of how Pietro's eyes would ever so often flicker over to Maria.

"… Do you have _thing_ for my daughter?" Tony asked, laughing slightly "Sorry to break it to you, Speedy, she's already taken."

"By us."

Wanda smirked as she held her right wrist out towards Tony, who froze. Pietro copied his sister, also baring his wrist for Tony to see.

It was quiet for a long moment.

It was Steve who finally broke the silence.

"Now's not the time for this."

"I'm sorry?" Tony asked raising an eyebrow "Now's not the time to address that people who want to kill me are my daughter's soulmates?"

"Not when there are more pressing matters, like, the world ending," Maria said.

"The world can survive another five minutes while you explain to me why you didn't tell me in the first place," Tony said loudly, the Maximoffs shifting slightly as if they were preparing to jump in if needs be.

"Because, I knew it would throw you off your game. You need to focus on what's important!"

"The fact that my daughter is being a whore for two homicidal maniacs isn't important?!"

Everyone in the room froze.

Tony winced and shut his eyes.

Maria blinked hard for a second.

"… All my life I thought you were one of the only people to never call me that… but now I see you just weren't saying it to my face," Maria said quietly, her voice strained.

"Maria…" Tony started.

Maria shook her head slightly and took a few steps back, placing herself right between the Maximoffs, who placed their hands on her back and gave Tony a warning look.

"Bruce, bring me up to speed," Maria said, clearing her throat.

"… There's been someone blocking Ultron. Tony went to have a look and," Bruce smiled at Maria, knowing this would cheer her up "It's JARVIS."

"… Jarvis? But, how?" Maria said, smiling slightly.

"Turns out, Ultron didn't kill all of him," Bruce said.

"And now that we have the body," Tony said, hoping that this would make up for what he said "We can put JARVIS into it."

Instead of the look of excitement he expected from Maria, he was greeted with a look of wariness.

"That seems like a bad idea."

"What, why?"

"You're going to take the chance that he won't turn out just like Ultron?" Steve asked.

"This is JARVIS."

"Dad, you _know_ I love Jarvis probably more than anyone else, but we can't take that risk," Maria said, looking over at the computers running, before nodding slightly at Pietro, who ran and disconnected some of the wires.

Only for the ground to give out under him.

"You didn't see that coming?" Clint asked.

Bruce grabbed Wanda, who struggled for a second before he said

"Go ahead, piss me off."

"Dad, this is ridiculous!" Maria yelled.

And then Thor decided to show up.

He landed on top of the tube with the body and caused lightening to flow through himself into it and then flew back.

Because, the body was alive.

Everyone moved towards him, but he pushed them out of the way and went flying for a moment, before he was confronted with the window out onto New York skyline.

As everyone started to go towards him, Thor called.

"Wait!"

It was quiet for a moment.

He turned around and landed on the ground, clothes appearing on him, including a cape.

"I'm sorry, I forgot myself."

Maria felt her heart stop.

"Jarvis."

Jarvis looked at her and smiled slightly.

"Maria."

Maria opened her mouth as if to speak, but no sound emitted.

"… I'm sorry, Maria, but I'm not quite Jarvis anymore."

"Then who are you?" Maria asked.

"… A vision of the future… Vision."

Tony opened his mouth, but was quieted by five separate glares.

"I need to apologize too, Vision, but I can't trust you."

"I would be disappointed if you did," Vision replied, Maria smiling slightly "I raised you smarter than that."

"Then what now?" Maria asked "How can we work with you if there's always the possibility of you turning?"

"I can see into his head," Wanda offered "Tell you if he is telling the truth."

"Yeah, because we trust you," Tony said sarcastically.

"Then I don't know what to say," Vision said "I know none of you trust me, but I want to help."

"You're going to help us? Help us kill Ultron?" Maria asked, Vision looked around the room at everybody he' been ignoring in favor of Maria.

"I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique... and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So he must be destroyed: every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the 'net. We have to act now, and not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me."

"But we need to go."

It was dead silent.

Because Vision held Mjolnir.

After a few tense seconds, Thor slowly too it from Vision, who then walked away.

"Alright."

.

"You're hurt."

Maria looked up as Vision approached her; everyone was preparing to leave and she was alone, which she knew wouldn't last long.

"No, I'm fine," Maria said, slightly confused.

"Physically, yes, you're at peak condition," Vision agreed, Maria looking down as she realized what he was talking about.

"What Tony said."

"Not just Tony, but, yes, he was the one that opened old wounds," Vision said.

"What about it?" Maria asked.

"… You and I are very much alike, Maria, we share a similarity."

"And that is?"

"We're different," Vision said simply "We're not what those who created us intended."

"Well, I was never intended at all," Maria pointed out "Forgotten birth control."

"Those who created us are not necessarily those that made our bodies. Every person that said something about you added a piece to you. Just like how every conversation we shared helped create me."

Maria looked away and bit her lip.

"You mustn't judge them too harshly, Maria," Vision said "They can't help what they can and cannot understand."

"And they can't understand us? Me?"

"Some could, perhaps, and some can work past it, like the Captain or Thor."

"So we're destined to be misunderstood forever?"

"We have each other," Vision offered "You understand me. And I you."

"I think that I can live with that," Maria said, smiling.

"But, you won't. You have more than just me," Vision said, sending a significant look over at the Maximoffs, who had been shooting looks at the two talking for the past couple minutes "They care for you very deeply."

"I know," Maria said, her smiling softening.

"And you return it."

It wasn't a question, but Maria answered anyway.

"I do."

"Then you should tell them that; they're unsure of your affections."

"… Are you trying to be my wingman now?" Maria asked, smiling as Visions smiled slightly.

"I'm just giving you advice, since we may all be dead soon."

"You're a cheery one," Maria replied.

"… Do you remember the conversation we had before Ultron?"

"When they were in Sokovia? Yeah."

"I may have done something after that conversation," Vision admitted.

"What do you mean?" Maria frowned.

"I realized that you joining the Avengers was inevitable, so I took the liberty of preparing you a suit."

"You made me a super suit?" Maria asked slowly.

"Correct. It's in the lounge if you want it."

"What did you say to her to make her run like that?" Steve asked, laughing slightly.

.

It was pretty simple.

It was all black, with three pieces to it; the pants, the top, and the jacket that went over it.

They were made of a stretchy material, but not as tight as Natasha's.

The jacket part stopped at her hip bones in the front but kept going down to her mid-thigh in the back.

She pulled on the combat suits before slipping on the fingerless gloves.

.

"I like it," Maria informed Vision happily, not noticing how the Maximoffs' eyes raked over her form.

"Looking good, Maria," Steve said, giving her small smile, which she returned.

"The material should be able to withstand your strong and sudden movements," Vision informed her.

"Thanks you," Maria said, before giving Vision a quick hug, which he returned softly. Once they pulled away, Vision spoke.

"I believe the Maximoffs want to speak with you."

.

Maria and the twins stood outside of the main area where the others were. Maria noticed that Pietro was particularly jittery.

"As much as we'd like to, we won't ask you to stay behind," Wanda said, smiling slightly at Maria "We know what you'll say."

"Thanks," Maria said.

"But, you wouldn't even consider just…" Pietro trailed off, looking at her with big eyes.

"No, Pietro… My place is out there, with the Avengers… With you two."

The Maximoffs seemed to cheer slightly.

"Then, may we ask for something else?" Pietro asked.

"Depends, what?" Maria asked.

"A kiss," Wanda said.

Maria didn't quite know why, maybe they were old fashioned or understood that she was a bit scared, but they hadn't once touched her like that. Not a single peck or anything.

Maria smiled at their hopeful faces.

"Who first?"

.

Kissing the twins was strange.

Both of them felt overwhelming, but in different ways.

Pietro stood a good head taller than her, so when they kissed, and he wrapped his arms around her, she felt so small in comparison.

She knew that she could _easily_ break his hold on her, but she liked it and how it made her feel safe. She also liked how he scratched her slightly with his stubble, and kissed her a bit harder once she'd threaded her fingers through his hair.

Wanda's was weird.

But, Maria was starting to suspect everything was with Wanda.

Wanda was only a few inches taller than her and had a more slim body type, but…

She could've _sworn_ while they were kissing, that Wanda was _way_ bigger than her, like she was completely surrounding her.

And, while she felt safe and loved in both of their arms, something about Wanda's felt strange.

For a moment, Wanda clung onto Maria as if, if she didn't, she'd be torn apart.

But, that moment passed, and Wanda pulled away, smiling softly at Maria, who blushed in return.

"Um, please don't die," Maria said "I really don't want you two die."

"We won't if you don't," Pietro teased, Maria smiling.

"Deal."

Then, Steve called her, and she went to go see what he was saying, before backpedaling and looking at the twins.

"Uh… I love you. I love you both."

The twins froze for a second, before giant smiles worked their way across their faces.

"I love you too," Wanda murmured, brushing the hair out of Maria's face.

"I love you," Pietro said, squeezing her hand.

"Right, good, I do need to go see what Steve wants, though," Maria smiled at the twins before walking away.

It was quiet for a second as the twins contemplated what had happened before Pietro voiced his earlier question.

"Did you _mean_ to let your powers out while you were kissing Maria?"


	8. Chapter 7

_Ten more minutes._

Jade rubbed her temples as her English teacher continued to speak; she had drank far too much Vodka last night and just wanted to go home and take a nap.

And she also needed to decipher what the hell Maria had meant when she'd texted her "No matter what, I love you."

 _Someone_ had been hitting the Tequila.

"Sir!" A kid burst into the classroom, startling all of the college students who were half asleep.

"I'm in the middle of a lecture, you can't just-."

"It's the Avengers."

It was silent for a moment before chaos broke out.

"Where?!"

"Aliens?!"

"Everybody return to your seats and stop talking!" The Professor yelled before turning to the kid "Tell us everything."

"They're in some place called Sokovia. They're fighting _robots_."

Jade felt a pit of dread settle in her stomach.

"They're all there. Hulk. Thor." The kid paused as he scrolled down on his phone, frowning "There's two unknowns with powers… Maria Stark is there as well."

Jade let out the soft choked gasp she'd been holding in.

"Oh, you _idiot_."

.

"Maria, report."

"Other than the shocking myself a few times while tearing cables out? Good."

Maria pulled a drone's head off before chucking it at another one.

Maria sighed; she wanted nothing more than to go find Wanda and Pietro, but they'd agreed that being together during the fight was too much of a distraction.

Wanda was somewhere with Clint, while Pietro would occasionally zip past her, thinking she didn't notice when he would place a kiss on her forehead.

Then the ground started to shake.

And _lift_.

.

"Miss Potts!"

"What now?" Pepper groaned, looking up from the press on Tony's and Bruce's fight and at her current personal assistant.

"The Avengers; they're fighting robots."

"Of _course_ they are," Pepper muttered "Do you have the coverage?"

"Not much, seeing that part of Sokovia is, uh, _floating_."

"What do you know?" Pepper asked, her annoyance starting to be overtaken by worry.

"Not much. All the regular players are there." She pulled up a few pictures that were being posted; as she flipped through them Pepper felt her heart stop.

"Go back."

She went back, and Pepper could quite clearly tell that the grainy picture was of the young woman she considered her daughter.

.

"You get hurt; hurt 'em back. You get killed; walk it off."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Maria muttered, throwing a car at a group of drones.

"What?!" Tony asked through the coms.

" _Nothing!"_

.

 _If you step out that door; you're an Avenger._

Wanda gave a shuddery gasp; this was all her fault.

If she hadn't let Stark take the scepter…

Who was she kidding; she was _scared_.

Of dying, of others dying, of Pietro dying, of Maria…

How did Maria do it?

She dove headfirst into fighting; didn't hesitate once.

How was she not scared?

The moment Wanda thought this; she felt it through the bond.

Maria _was_ scared.

Maria was _terrified_.

But, she was being brave… Brave for others, brave for Pietro, brave for _her_.

… Maybe, she couldn't be brave for herself… But, she could be for Maria.

Wanda steeled herself and stood right in front of the door.

Time to join Maria.

Time to become an Avenger.

.

"We're all clear."

Maria huffed at Clint's statement as she slammed a drone with a stop sign, Steve voicing her thoughts.

"We are not clear. We are _very_ not clear!"

"Alright, coming to you."

Clint looked over as Pietro sped by, grabbing Wanda.

"Keep up old man!"

Clint drew an arrow.

"Nobody would know. Nobody. Last I saw him, Ultron was sitting on him. Yeah, he'll be missed. Miss the little bastard already."

"Uh, Clint? Next time you're planning murder, maybe, don't say it into the coms," Maria recommended, Clint sighing.

.

Maria wasn't entirely sure if Steve meant to throw the shield to her, but she rolled with it; hitting a drone before throwing it to Natasha.

As she fought, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her left arm, but when she looked, nothing was there.

"Uh, Pietro and Wanda? Did either of you just hurt your left arm?"

"I just got shot by some…" Pietro began to mutter something in Sokovian.

"Hold on, could you _feel_ that?" Clint asked.

"Proximity mixed with strong pain, maybe? I don't know. This isn't the best time to discuss this. Just, try not to get shot again," Maria said.

"Well, that completely changes my previous strategy of _wanting_ them to shoot me," Pietro muttered.

.

"Cap, these people are going nowhere," Natasha said, once Tony told them about vaporizing the city "Stark finds a way to blow this rock…"

"Not until everyone's safe."

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no-."

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

"I don't think anyone's saying we should," Maria said.

Steve looked over at her sharply, Maria just shrugging in response.

"There's worse ways to go," Natasha agreed "Where else am I going to get a view like this."

"Glad you like the view, Romanov, It's about to get better."

Maria gaped slightly as a Helicarrier appeared out of the clouds.

"Fury, you son of a bitch," Steve said.

"Wo, ho, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

.

"This is SHIELD?" Pietro asked, having appeared beside Maria a few moments ago.

"This is what SHIELD's supposed to be," Steve replied.

"This is not so bad."

.

"Now this is going to be a good story," Rhodey said excitedly.

"Yep, if you live to tell it," Tony replied.

"You think I can't hold my own?"

"If we get through this, _I'll_ hold your own."

"I'll take 'Things I wished I'd never heard' for two hundred, Alex," Maria said, deadpanned over the coms.

.

"Rhodey, get everyone that Helicarrier. Avengers, time to work for a living."

"… Is Rhodey _not_ an Avenger?" Maria asked "God, you're guys' rush policy confuses me."

.

One way or another, everyone got to the church; killing drones as they went.

No one said anything when Maria and the Maximoffs spent a second making sure the others were alright, although, Tony did tense slightly when Wanda cupped Maria's cheek for a moment.

"Romanov? You and Banner better not be playing hide the zucchini."

"It's like you're actively _trying_ to make me uncomfortable," Maria said, rolling her eyes.

"Relax, not _all_ of us can fly."

Natasha hopped out of the truck and made her way to the others.

"What's the drill?"

"This is the drill; Ultron gets his hands on this, we lose."

Ultron flew over to them.

"IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO?!" Thor yelled.

Maria sighed, having seen enough movies to know where this was going.

Drones came running and flying in.

"You had to ask," Steve said.

"This is the best I can do. This is exactly what I wanted; all of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Like the old man said," Tony said, looking around at his teammates, _his family_.

"Together."

.

 _"I don't understand why…" Maria had pouted._

 _"You have Soulmates, I know you can't," Theresa responded, smiling slightly._

 _"But, you don't even like him!"_

 _"… Maria, you're too young to understand this right now, but… I'm not meant to be remembered. My life is going to be a small one in the scope of the galaxy… This is what's best for me… But you…" Theresa trailed off, moving to kneel down in front of Maria, looking her dead in the eye._

 _"You're going to do something big with yours."_

.

"It's my job," Wanda said simply, speaking about staying to make sure no drones get to the center.

"I can stay too," Maria offered, Wanda shaking her head.

"Get on a shuttle, My Love, I'll join you soon."

Maria cheeks colored slightly before squeezing Wanda's hand softly and going to leave with the others.

It was quiet for a moment.

"My Lo-."

"Not a word, Rogers."

.

"Is Wanda still at the church?" Pietro asked, having sped up to the group.

"Yeah, she's making sure nothing gets to the center," Maria replied, taking a notice of how Pietro's eyes checked her over.

"I'll go check on her," He said, before speeding over and pressing a kiss to Maria's cheek "Stay safe, Pretty Girl."

"You too," Maria replied softly, Pietro smiling.

Then he was gone.

Steve didn't even get a single sound out before Maria cut him off.

"Zip it."

.

Maria stood on one of the shuttles making sure everyone on it was okay, not noticing Clint had run off of it to grab a kid.

.

 _It won't be like it was for me… I had nothing, she'll have Wanda._

 _Wanda will take good care of her._

 _The Avengers will take good care of her._

 _She'll be safe._

 _God, please let her be safe._

 _Let her be happy._

 _._

"You didn't see that coming?"

 _._

Everything had been fine.

Then pain.

And then…

 _Nothing_.

 _._

Steve wasn't sure if his first reaction was the best reaction, but he did it.

His instinct was to slam Maria's head into the side of the shuttle, knocking her out.

He laid her down on some of the empty seats, ignoring the looks he got from the passengers.

And then he left the shuttle to bring Maria her soulmate.

.

Clint wondered what it was like.

Even in her sleep, Maria's face was contorted in pain, a few tears working their way down her face.

And even though Pietro was… Maria's body still angled itself towards him, her arm off of the seat and out towards that _stupid_ kid.

.

"It felt like that."

Wanda made a small sound, still holding the piece of Ultron as the city began to fall.

 _I'm sorry_.

She began to fly up in the air, feeling sick as she realized that how she and Pietro had felt when Maria had… Maria was about to experience it for the _both_ of them.

"Maria needs you."

Wanda looked up in surprise as Vision grabbed her and began to fly.

.

Even in her sleep, Maria could tell that something was _wrong_.

It felt like part of herself was _missing_.

And, she felt like…

She didn't want to wake up.

.

Steve swallowed hard as he looked at Maria's still unconscious form.

"… Did anyone see if Wanda made it off?" He asked over the coms

"I have her, Captain," Vision said "Dropping her off now."

"Thank you, Vision."

"I didn't do it for you."

.

Wanda's body gave a tremor as she placed her hand on her brother's cheek.

"I'll take care of her," She promised through her tears.

After a few more moments, she wiped her tears away and turned to leave.

What Vision had said was true; Maria needed her.

.

"What happened to her?" Wanda asked, her voice strained as she ran her hand through Maria's hair.

"I knocked her out when it happened," Steve said, sounding apologetic.

"It's for the best," Wanda agreed, pulling up one of the hard plastic chairs to sit on beside Maria's bed "Go… Rest. I will watch over her."

Steve nodded and left.

Wanda moved so she was closer to Maria.

"I promise I will watch over you. I will keep you safe," She said, tears running down her cheeks.

"No one will ever hurt you again, My Love, I promise."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

As Wanda finished that sentence, Nick Fury and Maria Hill burst into the room.

"Can you wake her up?"

"Yes. But, it's better if she-."

"Wake her up," Fury commanded, but something about his tone a voice made Wanda obey.

Maria jolted awake, breathing heavily, and immediately feeling the absence of Pietro weighing down on her.

She scrambled to look at her wrist; only one set.

But, before she could hyperventilate or anything, Fury slapped her hard across the face. Wanda moved to stop him, but Hill placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a look.

"I've seen far too many people after they lose their soulmate, and I know that right now you want to curl up into a ball and never move again. But, you need to stay here," Fury yelled as Maria breathing sped up and her eyes began to get teary "If you retreat into yourself right now, you're going to miss your chance. I need you to stay as Maria Stark; don't become a shell."

It was quiet for a long moment as Maria seemed to get closer and closer to a panic attack.

"… I don't think I'm Maria Stark anymore," She admitted, her voice hoarse "… I think I'm Maria Maximoff… What chance?"

Fury smiled slightly.

"Dr. Cho's machine can rebuild the tissue that was destroyed in Pietro."

"Yeah, so? He'd still be…" Maria trailed off, looking away and taking a deep breathe.

"Yeah, you'd need some kind of miracle drug to bring him back."

"… But, all of the GH325 was destroyed," Maria reminded him.

"True… All of it _except_ for what's flowing through the veins of three specific people."

Maria looked at him with wide eyes before looking over at Hill.

"If we can give him a blood transfusion using your blood, it _might_ work."

"Why are you phrasing this like a question? Yes, let's do it," Maria said, hopping up.

"There is a drawback," Hill said, looking down "The amount of blood we would need to give him is… a potentially life threatening amount for you."

"I don't care," Maria said.

"I do," Wanda replied.

"We all do," Fury added "You're important to these people. You can't just throw around your life like there aren't consequences."

"I can't… I can't just _not_ try," Maria said.

Fury studied her for a moment before nodding and turning to Hill.

"See if Stark will give some of his; then we can replace hers with it."

.

Maria bit on her nails as she watched the blood flow through the tube and into Pietro. She felt light headed and tired, but, she couldn't sleep… Not yet.

"Please work," She murmured softly, Wanda squeezing her hand for comfort.

Ten minutes went by.

Nothing.

After another ten, the doctors exchanged looks and slowly left the room, and after a few more minutes, Maria spoke.

"Can I have a moment?" She asked Wanda, who nodded and left.

Maria stood and took a few wobbly steps to sit beside Pietro, who almost seemed like he was just sleeping.

"I'm sorry… I know it really isn't my fault, but still… I'm sorry that we had so little time together… That I never really got to know you… That we never got to…" Maria gave a long shuddery sigh, brushing her tears away, before grabbing his cold hand and leaning forward so she was closer to his expressionless face, whispering what she said softly.

"When I imagined what my soulmates would be like, I never imagined _anyone_ like you… You are far better than anything I could've _ever_ dreamt off… I love you… _God,_ I love you and I will until the day I die… Just… Please, don't stay dead… _please…_ "

.

.

.

 _"Come back to me, Pietro."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Pietro's body convulsed and he started to gasp shallowly around the tube in his throat right as Maria felt a sharp pain and a burst of light on her right wrist.

The mark was back.


	9. Epilogue

It had been a few months since the battle.

And Maria absolutely _loved_ the new base.

It was big and open, and she got to be unrestrained in her powers.

(All of the doors were reinforced).

It was _good_ to be away from the business of the city and the craziness of the constant press.

And… things hadn't been going so great with her dad.

It wasn't that she hated him, or anything, it was just that…

Before everything happened, he was the most important person in her life, if she had had to choose between him and _anyone_ else she would've chosen him, but now…

She couldn't help it, just…

The twins.

 _Her_ twins.

Her Wanda and her Pietro.

There were no words to describe them anymore, she just…

She loved them.

She loved them more than she had ever known possible.

She couldn't even articulate how she'd felt when Pietro had come back.

When it happened, and after the doctors had made sure he was stabilized, she cried into his chest for a good hour. She wasn't embarrassed though; once she'd finished and conscious enough to feel embarrassment, Pietro just pulled her closer and whispered to her how, after _she'd_ come back, he'd sobbed his eyes out like a little kid.

God, she loved him.

She loved them both.

She loved that how, sometimes, Pietro got so excited that he started babbling in Sokovian and she'd have to remind him that she didn't speak it.

And how, once, while Wanda was training, she lost her train of thought and accidently caused the person she was mind controlling to start rhapsodizing about Maria.

(For the record, it had been Sam).

(Also, for the record, when it happened, Steve had given Wanda a long stern look before bursting out laughing).

Or how, in the morning, they were both so excited to see her, and at night, they were both so morose to say goodnight.

That's right; they weren't sharing a room yet.

They'd agreed to cool it for a moment and just stay where they were, especially since the heart rate monitor incident back when Pietro was still recovering.

Maria had been excited he was alive, alright? How was she supposed to know that he'd react so strongly that a few nurses would come running? All she'd done was kiss him.

… While straddling him…

… And, maybe…. _grinding_ a little bit...

... _Anyway._

It wasn't that Maria didn't _want_ to bond with them; it was just that… she was _scared_.

Not for herself, but for them.

She could beat Thor in an arm wrestling match, how was she supposed to be _that_ intimate and _that_ close and _not_ accidently break one of the Maximoffs like a toothpick.

But… she'd offered once.

.

They'd just finished watching some episodes of Community, and they lay together on her bed; Pietro with his head on her chest and Wanda with her head on her stomach.

Pietro leaned up to capture Maria's lips, and as the kiss became slightly more heated, Wanda sat up, rolling her eyes.

After a few moments, Pietro pulled away, leaving Maria to gasp for a moment.

"We should go," Pietro said regretfully.

"Or, you could, you know, stay," Maria replied "Both of you."

For a moment, she thought they would; the way Pietro was looking at her sent shivers down her spine.

"Pietro," Wanda said _sternly_ before saying something in Sokovian that seemed to wake him out of his daze.

"Not tonight, Pretty Girl."

.

She felt slightly hurt, but moved on with it until she heard the Maximoffs arguing the next night in Sokovian, but her name definitely thrown around in the mix.

Then she felt a little worried.

.

They didn't exactly _avoid_ her after that, they just became more restrained.

They didn't touch her as much; whenever they were together, they put a bit of distance between themselves and her.

And when either of them kissed her, they pulled away as soon as it seemed like it was going to start getting more heated.

It lasted all of ten days before she confronted them.

.

"You guys hardly touch me anymore, your kisses last two seconds; you seem _uncomfortable_ around me... Is this because of how I asked if you two if you wanted to stay the night?" Maria asked slowly, the twins exchanging looks "Because, if it is, I'm _sorry_ -."

"No, no, no," Pietro interrupted, grabbing Maria's wrists "Don't apologize."

"It is not your fault, My Love," Wanda promised, running her hand through Maria's hair "Please be patient with us for a little bit longer; we need to figure something out."

Maria bit her lip.

"Okay… Just, don't shut me out anymore, please, I… I really don't like it."

Pietro pulled her into his arms, giving her a tight hug as Wanda hugged her from behind, both of the twins whispering soft apologies.

.

It took another two weeks for them to explain what was going on.

It was their day off from training, and that usually meant the three soulmates would cuddle and watch movies or something like that, but she hadn't seen them all day.

When she'd asked Steve, he'd made a funny face and said that they'd gone out for a bit.

Finally, she resolved to just ignore the problem and read one of the books she'd been meaning to, but had been too busy with training to get around too.

It was around seven o'clock when Maria heard the tentative knock on her door.

Maria hopped up and opened the door to find the twins standing there, looking slightly nervous.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Um…" Pietro frowned and shoved a package into her hands.

"Tell her why," Wanda hissed at her brother.

"It's an old Sokovian tradition to give a gift to your soulmate when you wish to…" He trailed off and gave her a significant look.

"Oh," She murmured softly, before slowly taking off the wrapping and opening the box.

"It's _beautiful_."

It was a necklace, with a small red pendant encased in a silver covering around the edges.

"Could you put it on me?" Maria asked, holding it out for Pietro to take.

Wanda was the one to clasp the necklace around Maria's neck.

Maria turned back around and the twins beamed at the way it looked, hanging right over the center of her scar.

" _Perfect_ ," Wanda murmured, making Maria's cheeks burn.

"Do you want to come in?" Maria asked, the twins smiling and stepping inside, both of them noticing that Maria became slightly jumpy.

"You guys kind of make me feel bad. I should have to buy you two stuff too."

"You're enough," Pietro said simply, Maria blushing again.

"Um… Since… Since we can't get married, I could, um, change my last name," Maria offered "You know; _legally_."

"You'd do that for us?" Pietro asked, slightly surprised.

"Of course I would," Maria replied, smiling "I _will_."

The three soulmates smiled at each other, before Maria ducked her head and seemed to get jumpy again.

"Are you alright, My Love?"

"Yeah… It's just…" Maria looked away and bit her lip for a moment "… I could hurt you. I could _kill_ one of you on accident, and I'm not sure how I can trust myself to…"

"Did you know that humans don't use all of our strength?" Wanda asked, Maria frowning "Our bodies stop us from using all of it to keep us from hurting ourselves."

Wanda lifted her hands as a request for permission, one that Maria granted, and slowly let some of her powers flow into Maria's head. When she was done, Maria attempted to tear a book; nothing.

Maria bit her lip and the twins exchanged a look.

"… Are you frightened?" Pietro asked softly "Because, we don't have to now."

"No, I want this;" Maria replied "I'm just a little nervous."

"Are you _sure_?" Wanda asked.

Maria looked at the twins, _her_ twins, who were watching her with worried eyes.

She smiled a warm smile.

"Yes."

.

It happened in a second, right as Maria hit the peak of blinding pleasure.

She _understood_.

She understood how the twins didn't feel worthy of her and how they both felt that they owed her more than they could ever give her.

She understood how _deeply_ they loved her and how they would do anything for her.

And she knew that they understood _her_.

But, most of all, she understood that they were all she would ever need.

.

Heimdall looked out at the universe.

"You summoned me?" "Odin" asked.

"I wish to inform you of something I have seen."

"Yes?"

"Lady Stark, the one with the Bond _Loki_ attempted to break."

"Yes?" "Odin's" tone now more sour.

"Her bond is complete."

"What does it matter to me that some diseased Midgardian whored herself to two others?" "Odin" demanded sharply.

"… In all my time as a Guardian, I have not seen the realms light up like this."

.

"How do you feel?" Wanda asked softly.

"Good… Great," Maria said, pulling Wanda closer to her.

"Are you sure?" Pietro asked, lifting his head from Maria's tousled curls "We didn't… We didn't hurt you, did we?"

Maria wanted to laugh; the twins had been heartbreakingly gentle with her, there was never a chance for them to cause her any pain.

"You didn't hurt me… I feel fantastic."

"Promise?"

"Promise," Maria said, before yawning.

"Sleep, My Love," Wanda said, running her fingers through Maria's hair.

.

Maria blinked awake; the first thing registering to her was that she was lying in an empty bed.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes, sitting up to blearily look around the room.

They weren't around her and she couldn't hear the shower going, so she had to assume that they had left, making her frown.

As she began to reach over to grab her robe, the door inched open and the twins entered, Pietro carrying a tray.

"You two didn't strike me as love 'em and leave 'em types," Maria teased lightly, the twins frowning "Its American slang, I'll explain later. Is that food?"

"Yes, we thought you might be hungry," Wanda confirmed, Pietro placing the tray on Maria's lap and dropping a kiss on her head before sitting down beside her.

"You two made me breakfast in bed. You're both utter dorks; I'm gonna keep you two," Maria said, popping a grape in her mouth "What time is it?"

"7:10."

"Crap, I have to be at the track in twenty minutes," Maria said, moving to get up before the twins caught her.

"Steve knew what we were going to propose and gave us the day off," Pietro said.

"You told him?" Maria asked.

"Needed money for the necklace," Pietro replied, shrugging slightly

"Maria, My Love..." Wanda said, sounding hesitant.

"You're the only person I know that can say that and not sound sarcastic," Maria informed Wanda, who smiled "But, you were saying."

"Last night, while you were sleeping," Wanda said, Maria giving her a weird look "I hope you don't mind, but I rested in your mind."

"Hm?" Maria asked, Wanda sighing.

"Your mind is nice; peaceful. It's relaxing for me to look in there."

"So you did it while I was asleep?" Maria asked.

"Yes," Wanda said, looking away.

"It's alright," Maria said, Wanda looking at her in surprise "If it's so nice, you're welcome to 'rest' in there."

Wanda looked at her with soft eyes, running her fingers through her hair before resting her hand on her cheek.

"Your trust in me is… incredible."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Maria muttered, feeling slightly self-conscious as Wanda leaned and kissed the top of her head.

"… There is a question I'd like to ask," Wanda admitted "While I was in there, you dreamed."

"Yes?" Maria asked.

"About a blonde woman, probably in her early twenties. Who is she?" Maria sighed, biting her lip as Wanda faltered "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

"No, no, it's alright. You two deserve to know," Maria said, sliding to stand up and grab something. But as she stood, her legs wobbled and she promptly fell back on Pietro's lap, who smirked.

"Having some trouble?"

"Shut up," Maria replied, smiling slightly "Can you grab the picture frame in the top drawer for me?"

Pietro was then holding the picture frame, hardly seeming like he'd moved.

"This her?" Maria asked, passing it to Wanda.

"Yes. And this is you?" Wanda asked, looking at the young girl in the picture.

"Yeah," Maria said.

"She was a bride?" Pietro asked, leaning to look the picture but tightening his grip on Maria's waist.

"She was my sister."

The twins looked at Maria sharply.

"Half-sister. But, that never stopped her," Maria said softly.

"What was her name?" Pietro asked.

"Theresa," Maria said "She was ten years older than me. She was the one that showed me how to not let the media affect me."

"… What happened to her?" Wanda asked quietly.

"Her wedding was the next day… But, when it came time for the ceremony, she was gone… She wasn't happy in that relationship, I know she wasn't. And she left a note saying that she couldn't do it, so we all assumed she'd come back after a little while…" Maria trailed off, her voice catching "And then, about a year ago… She called me."

"She called you?" Wanda asked.

"That's good, right?" Pietro asked.

"Pietro… My dad scoured every bit of this planet and he couldn't find her… And when she called, she was saying that the reason she left was because it was meant to be," Maria said "Whatever happened to her isn't good… If I hadn't…" Maria trailed off, sighing.

"If you hadn't?" Wanda asked.

"… I told her that she should leave;" Maria said, choked up "That she shouldn't stay if she was sad… If I hadn't had told her that, then-."

"It's not your fault," Pietro cut her off.

"But-."

"It's not," He insisted.

"She would have left anyway," Wanda said, grabbing Maria's hand and kissing it softly.

Maria gave a long shuddery sigh and buried her face in Pietro's neck, feeling their hands run over her back and through her hair. After a long moment, she raised her head and gave the twins a crooked smile, which they returned with soft smiles of their own.

"I hope… I hope wherever she is, she's happy," Maria said softly.

"I'm sure she is," Wanda replied, smiling softly at Maria who returned it before sighing and straightening her shoulders.

"Okay, enough being sad; what are we going to do today?"

The twin exchanged looks before turning their eyes back on Maria.

"All day?" Maria replied to their salacious looks.

"We've been waiting for this for a long time," Pietro said, grinning as Maria got progressively more and more red "We have all sorts of ideas for stuff to do to you… many ways to situate you between us to try."

.

"Okay, seriously, we can't spend all day doing this."

"Why not?"

.

"I'm being serious this time."

"Hush, Pretty Girl."

.

"We really ought to- oh, who am I kidding?"

.

It was around three o'clock when Maria finally broke the cycle.

"Okay, I seriously doubt I can handle more," She'd admitted, the twins nodding their assent and letting her leave the bed, before she promptly fell back down "Oh, right."

"Do you need some help?" Pietro asked, smirking slightly.

"I was going to take a shower."

"We'll make sure you don't fall," Wanda said, smiling.

.

Turns out; really hard to fit three people into that one shower.

But, they figured it out.

.

"I know what I want to do today," Maria said as she looked through her closet.

"Yes, My Love?" Wanda asked, hugging Maria from behind and leaning her head on Maria's shoulder.

"It's a surprise," Maria said "Go get dressed."

Wanda pouted before kissing Maria on the cheek and going to her own room.

.

"I found it a couple of weeks into our stay here," Maria said, leading the Maximoffs through the woods surrounding the facility "Oh, here we go."

Maria ran a few paces ahead of the twins, Pietro smiling indulgently as she laughed and plopped down on the ground.

"Come on!" She waved, Pietro appearing next to her and sitting down "Isn't it gorgeous?"

"It is," Pietro agreed, before noticing how strangely frozen Wanda was "What is it?"

"It… It's nothing," She promised, Maria smiling at her and patting the spot beside her.

When Wanda sat down, Maria frowned.

"Are you _sure_ everything's okay?"

Wanda looked over at her _living_ brother, who had his head on Maria's lap and was humming contently as she ran her fingers through his hair.

She looked around at the meadow full of white flowers surrounding them.

And finally she looked at her soulmate, Maria Maximoff, who was wearing a blue dress and a slightly concerned expression.

Wanda smiled and leaned into kiss her.

After a moment she pulled away, smiling softly in response to Maria's beaming smile.

"Everything is _perfect_."

.

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.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Can you turn the music on?"

"Are you actually kidding me? Do it yourself."

"You're closer."

"By, a step!"

"Please?"

"Ugh… Fine. Track one?"

"Yep."

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

"God, not this racket again."

"I like it."

"I know you do; heard you singin' in the shower."

"Why were you listening to me in the shower?"

"Couldn't help it; you're gonna make me deaf."

" _He_ doesn't mind my singing."

"He ain't in your room when you're screechin'."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Theresa Stark smiled devilishly before opening her mouth to belt out the chorus.

.

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 _"I'm Hooked on a Feeling!"_

 _"I'm High on Believing!"_

 _"That You're in Love With Me!"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 ** _Sequel will be up sometime in the next few days and I'll probably end up writing a Domestic!Avengers spin off_**


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